Data for Broad host susceptibility of North American amphibian species to Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans suggests high invasion potential and extinction risk

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Gray ◽  
Davis Carter
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Host Susceptibility ◽  
Amphibian Species ◽  
Invasion Potential ◽  
Batrachochytrium Salamandrivorans

scholarly journals Synergistic impacts of global warming and thermohaline circulation collapse on amphibians

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julián A. Velasco ◽  
Francisco Estrada ◽  
Oscar Calderón-Bustamante ◽  
Didier Swingedouw ◽  
Carolina Ureta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Thermohaline Circulation ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Amphibian Species ◽  
Climate Conditions

AbstractImpacts on ecosystems and biodiversity are a prominent area of research in climate change. However, little is known about the effects of abrupt climate change and climate catastrophes on them. The probability of occurrence of such events is largely unknown but the associated risks could be large enough to influence global climate policy. Amphibians are indicators of ecosystems’ health and particularly sensitive to novel climate conditions. Using state-of-the-art climate model simulations, we present a global assessment of the effects of unabated global warming and a collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) on the distribution of 2509 amphibian species across six biogeographical realms and extinction risk categories. Global warming impacts are severe and strongly enhanced by additional and substantial AMOC weakening, showing tipping point behavior for many amphibian species. Further declines in climatically suitable areas are projected across multiple clades, and biogeographical regions. Species loss in regional assemblages is extensive across regions, with Neotropical, Nearctic and Palearctic regions being most affected. Results underline the need to expand existing knowledge about the consequences of climate catastrophes on human and natural systems to properly assess the risks of unabated warming and the benefits of active mitigation strategies.

scholarly journals The effects of geographic range size and abundance on extinction during a time of “sluggish”’ evolution

Paleobiology ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Michelle M. Casey ◽  
Erin E. Saupe ◽  
Bruce S. Lieberman
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Late Paleozoic ◽  
The North ◽  
Geographic Range Size ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Habitat Tracking

Abstract Geographic range size and abundance are important determinants of extinction risk in fossil and extant taxa. However, the relationship between these variables and extinction risk has not been tested extensively during evolutionarily “quiescent” times of low extinction and speciation in the fossil record. Here we examine the influence of geographic range size and abundance on extinction risk during the late Paleozoic (Mississippian–Permian), a time of “sluggish” evolution when global rates of origination and extinction were roughly half those of other Paleozoic intervals. Analyses used spatiotemporal occurrences for 164 brachiopod species from the North American midcontinent. We found abundance to be a better predictor of extinction risk than measures of geographic range size. Moreover, species exhibited reductions in abundance before their extinction but did not display contractions in geographic range size. The weak relationship between geographic range size and extinction in this time and place may reflect the relative preponderance of larger-ranged taxa combined with the physiographic conditions of the region that allowed for easy habitat tracking that dampened both extinction and speciation. These conditions led to a prolonged period (19–25 Myr) during which standard macroevolutionary rules did not apply.

Natural stressors and disease risk: does the threat of predation increase amphibian susceptibility to ranavirus?

2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (7) ◽  
pp. 893-902 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.A. Haislip ◽  
J.T. Hoverman ◽  
D.L. Miller ◽  
M.J. Gray
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽  
Host Susceptibility ◽  
Continuous Exposure ◽  
Amphibian Species ◽  
Predator Cues

Emerging infectious diseases have been identified as threats to biodiversity, yet our understanding of the factors contributing to host susceptibility to pathogens within natural populations remains limited. It has been proposed that species interactions within communities affect host susceptibility to pathogens, thereby contributing to disease emergence. In particular, predation risk is a common natural stressor that has been hypothesized to compromise immune function of prey through chronic stress responses possibly leading to increased susceptibility to pathogens. We examined whether predation risk experienced during the development of four larval anuran species increases susceptibility (mortality and infection) to ranaviruses, a group of viruses responsible for amphibian die-offs. Using controlled laboratory experiments, we exposed each species to a factorial combination of two virus treatments (no virus or virus) crossed with three predator-cue treatments (no predators, larval dragonflies, or adult water bugs). All four amphibian species reduced activity by 22%–48% following continuous exposure to predator cues. In addition, virus exposure significantly reduced survival by 17%–100% across all species. However, exposure to predator cues did not interact with the virus treatments to elevate mortality or viral load. Our results suggest that the expression of predator-induced plasticity in anuran larvae does not increase ranaviral disease risk.

scholarly journals Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans: The North American Response and a Call for Action

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. e1005251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Gray ◽  
James P. Lewis ◽  
Priya Nanjappa ◽  
Blake Klocke ◽  
Frank Pasmans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
The North ◽  
Batrachochytrium Salamandrivorans

scholarly journals Extinction risk of North American seed plants elevated by climate and land-use change

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 303-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Zhang ◽  
Scott E. Nielsen ◽  
Youhua Chen ◽  
Damien Georges ◽  
Yuchu Qin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
North American ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Seed Plants

scholarly journals On the Data Deficient amphibians occurring in Colombia

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 1272
Author(s):  
Cristian Román Palacios ◽  
Alejandro Valencia Zuleta
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Clustering ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressures ◽  
Amphibian Species ◽  
Current Conservation ◽  
Geographic Ranges ◽  
Human Footprint ◽  
Data Deficient ◽  
The Relationship

Whereas more than 10 % of the global amphibian richness is known to occur in Colombia, almost 16 % of these species are currently classified as Data Deficient according to the IUCN. These estimates suggest that the available data for a large portion of the amphibians occurring in Colombia is insufficient to assess extinction risk. Here we aim to (1) review the available information on the distribution of the Colombian Data Deficient (DD hereafter) amphibians, (2) analyze their geographic distribution, and (3) evaluate the relationship between anthropogenic impact and their current conservation status. For this, we first compiled geographical records for the DD amphibian species using primary sources. Geographical records were obtained mainly from taxonomic descriptions and non-systematic surveys. We then estimated the geographical range and inferred the potential distribution for each species using LetsR and MaxEnt, respectively. We quantified the human footprint for each species and tested the relationship between spatial distribution and anthropogenic change across populations. Analyses are here based on 128 of the 129 amphibians that occur in Colombia and are currently listed as DD. We found that most of these species were recently described and have small geographic ranges. A large proportion of these DD amphibians inhabit the Colombian Andes, and their populations have been strongly affected by human activities. Overall, the spatial clustering suggests that many of these species have faced similar environmental and anthropogenic pressures that have contributed to their rareness. We also suggest that the conservation status of several of the analyzed DD amphibians should be changed to account for the threats they face. 

scholarly journals Contradicting habitat type-extinction risk relationships between living and fossil amphibians

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 170051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Tietje ◽  
Mark-Oliver Rödel
Keyword(s):  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Persistence Length ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Amphibian Species ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
Rivers And Streams ◽  
Fossil Data ◽  
Flowing Waters

Trait analysis has become a crucial tool for assessing the extinction risk of species. While some extinction risk-trait relationships have been often identical between different living taxa, a temporal comparison of fossil taxa with related current taxa was rarely considered. However, we argue that it is important to know if extinction risk-trait relations are constant or changing over time. Herein we investigated the influence of habitat type on the persistence length of amphibian species. Living amphibians are regarded as the most threatened group of terrestrial vertebrates and thus of high interest to conservationists. Species from different habitat types show differences in extinction risk, i.e. species depending on flowing waters being more threatened than those breeding in stagnant sites. After assessing the quality of the available amphibian fossil data, we show that today's habitat type-extinction risk relationship is reversed compared to fossil amphibians, former taxa persisting longer when living in rivers and streams, thus suggesting a change of effect direction of this trait. Neither differences between amphibian orders nor environmentally caused preservation effects could explain this pattern. We argue this change to be most likely a result of anthropogenic influence, which turned a once favourable strategy into a disadvantage.

scholarly journals Are conservation assessments of threatened species reliable? Updated distribution of the Endangered Sardinian newt Euproctus platycephalus and implications for Red List assessments of Italian amphibians

Oryx ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 482-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo Vignoli ◽  
Daniele Macale ◽  
Luca Luiselli ◽  
Roberta Lecis ◽  
Paolo Casula
Keyword(s):  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Red List ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Distribution Data ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Amphibian Species ◽  
Island Endemic ◽  
Area Of Occupancy

AbstractAssessing and updating the extinction risk and conservation status of species and populations is paramount to guide management strategies. Maintaining up-to-date and realistic geographical distribution maps of individual species is one aspect of this. We report an updated distribution for an Italian island endemic amphibian, the Sardinian newt Euproctus platycephalus, categorized as Endangered on the IUCN global and national Red Lists. The distribution of E. platycephalus was reassessed by means of visual surveys, questionnaires, interviews and scientific literature. The species was found over a geographical range comparable to that used for the IUCN assessment but we recorded a significantly larger number of populations (57 vs 14). There was no appreciable difference in the species’ Extent of Occurrence between 1972–1974 and 2010–2015. Area of Occupancy increased between past (1972–1974 and 1999–2000) and present (2010–2015) distribution records. Based on this updated distribution and considering that several new populations have been found, the distribution of the species may still be underestimated. Given the novel distribution data provided here and the need for new long-term demographic data, we recommend that the conservation status of E. platycephalus be reassessed. In the Italian national Red List a potential overstatement of extinction risk is evident for other amphibian species, possibly because the information used in their assessment is deficient. Considering that monitoring rare and elusive species is costly and time consuming we recommend more extensive use of multiple sources of information for Red List assessments.

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