ABSTRACT
Large losses in biodiversity are occurring around the world (Lawton and May 1995). Although the exact number of species being lost is unknown, some estimate that the rate of extinction is greater than any known in the last 100,000 years (Wilson 1992). Species loss is a major part of this “biodiversity crisis.” The crisis is exempli¡ed by population declines, range reductions, and extinctions of amphibian species around the world (Houlahan et al. 2000; Stuart et al. 2004; Lannoo 2005; Mendelson et al. 2006). In at least some regions, amphibian losses appear to be more severe than losses in other vertebrate taxa (Pounds et al. 1997, 1999; Stuart et al. 2004). From a historical perspective, amphibian losses may be representative of a sixth major extinction event (Wake and Vredenburg 2008). Moreover, declines in amphibian populations are prominent because many of them are occurring in areas that remain
Key Issues ................................................................................................................30 Perspective on Global Climate Change ...................................................................30 Assessing the Effects of Climate Change on Amphibians ....................................... 33
Climate Change and Amphibian Population Declines ........................................ 33 Remote Sensing ...................................................................................................34 Models .................................................................................................................34 Phenology ............................................................................................................36
Environmental Changes and Emerging Infectious Diseases .................................... 38 Ambient UV-B Radiation Is Harmful to Amphibians and May Interact with Climate Change ........................................................................................................ 41 Evolutionary Considerations ....................................................................................44 Summary .................................................................................................................. 45 Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................46 References ................................................................................................................46
