Table Of ContentAMPHIBIAN DECLINES
AMPHIBIAN DECLINES
THE CONSERVATION STATUS OF UNITED STATES SPECIES
Edited by
MICHAEL LANNOO
Berkeley
Los Angeles
London
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
University of California Press
Berkeley and Loss Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2005 by the Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Amphibian declines: The conservation status of United States species
/ edited by Michael Lannoo.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-520-23592-4 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Amphibian declines. 2. Amphibian declines—United States. I.
Lannoo, Michael
QL644.7.A48 2005
333.95’78—dc22
2004015272
Printed in Canada
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The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements
of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R 1997) (Permanence of Paper).
We dedicate this effort to David Wake, George Rabb, and Whit Gibbons, around whose
energy and insight and influence we in amphibian conservation have gathered. The
story of how Dave saw the pattern in the early scattered reports of amphibian declines,
organized herpetologists, and helped to create the Declining Amphibian Populations
Task Force is part of our folklore. We continue to rely on his wisdom and guidance.
George, who furiously works both in front of and behind the scenes, is truly one of the
great conservation biologists of our time. Whit’s kind and infectious enthusiasm
mobilizes both scientists and lay people alike. They are the giants upon whose shoulders
we now stand.
We also dedicate this effort to the memories of two great mentors from an earlier
generation, who passed when this book was in its early stages: Sherman Minton, Jr.
(1920–1999), whose last published paper is included here; and Richard V. Bovbjerg
(1919–1999), who in 1964 was one of the first scientists to speak to the issue of amphibian
conservation.
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS IX
ADVISORY BOARD XI
CONTRIBUTORS XIII
PREFACE XIX
Michael Lannoo
PART ONE
Conservation Essays 1
I NTR O D U CTI O N
2
1
Diverse Phenomena
Influencing Amphibian
Population Declines 3
Tim Halliday
2
Why Are Some Species
in Decline but Others
Not? 7
Martha L. Crump
3
Philosophy, Value
Judgments, and Declining
Amphibians 10
Sarah Aucoin, Robert G. Jaeger,
and Steve Giambrone
4
Embracing Human Diversity in
Conservation 15
Whit Gibbons
5
Declining Amphibian Populations
Task Force 17
W. Ronald Heyer and James B.
Murphy
D E C LI N E S
22
6
Meeting the Challenge of Amphibian
Declines with an Interdisciplinary
Research Program 23
James P. Collins, Nicholas Cohen,
Elizabeth W. Davidson, Joyce E.
Longcore, and Andrew Storfer
7
Biology of Amphibian Declines
David M. Green 28
8
Declines of Eastern North
American Woodland Salamanders
(Plethodon) 34
Richard Highton
9
Decline of Northern Cricket Frogs
(Acris crepitans) 47
Robert H. Gray and Lauren
E. Brown
10
Overwintering in Northern Cricket
Frogs (Acris crepitans) 55
Jason T. Irwin
CAU S E S
59
11
Repercussions of Global
Change 60
Jamie K. Reaser and Andrew
Blaustein
12
Lessons from Europe 64
K. Henle (Translation by
William T. Leja)
13
Risk Factors and Declines in
Northern Cricket Frogs
(Acris crepitans) 75
Val R. Beasley, Sandra A. Faeh,
Brigit Wikoff, Craig Staehle, Joyce
Eisold, Donald Nichols, Rebecca
Cole, Anna M. Schotthoefer, Martin
Greenwell, and Lauren E. Brown
14
Ultraviolet Radiation 87
Andrew R. Blaustein and Lisa
K. Belden
15
Xenobiotics 89
Christine M. Bridges and
Raymond D. Semlitsch
16
Variation in Pesticide Tolerance 93
Christine M. Bridges and
Raymond D. Semlitsch
17
Lucké Renal Adenocarcinoma 96
Robert G. McKinnell and Debra
L. Carlson
18
Malformed Frogs in Minnesota:
History and Interspecific
Differences 103
David M. Hoppe
19
Parasites of North American
Frogs 109
Daniel Sutherland
20
Parasite Infection and Limb
Malformations: A Growing Problem
in Amphibian Conservation 124
Pieter T.J. Johnson and Kevin
B. Lunde
VII
21
Pine Silviculture 139
D. Bruce Means
22
Commercial Trade 146
Anthony B. Wilson
C O N S E RVATI O N
149
23
Houston Toads and Texas
Politics 150
Lauren E. Brown and Ann
Mesrobian
24
Amphibian Conservation
Needs 168
Edward D. Koch and Charles
R. Peterson
25
Amphibian Population Cycles and
Long-Term Data Sets 177
Howard H. Whiteman and
Scott A. Wissinger
26
Landscape Ecology 185
David E. Naugle, Kenneth F.
Higgins, Rex R. Johnson, Tate
D. Fischer, and Frank R. Quamen
27
Conservation of Texas Spring and
Cave Salamanders (Eurycea) 193
Paul T. Chippindale and
Andrew H. Price
28
Lessons from the Tropics 198
Karen R. Lips and Maureen
A. Donnelly
29
Taxonomy and Amphibian
Declines 206
Sherman A. Minton
30
Conservation Systematics: The
Bufo boreas Species Group 210
Anna M. Goebel
31
Factors Limiting the
Recovery of Boreal Toads
(Bufo b. boreas) 222
Cynthia Carey, Paul Stephen Corn,
Mark S. Jones, Lauren J. Livo, Erin
Muths, and Charles W. Loeffler
32
Southwestern Desert Bufonids 237
Brian K. Sullivan
33
Amphibian Ecotoxicology 241
Raymond D. Semlitsch and
Christine M. Bridges
34
Museum Collections 244
John W. Ferner, Jeffrey G. Davis,
and Paul J. Krusling
35
Critical Areas 247
Hugh R. Quinn and Colleen Scott
36
Creating Habitat Reserves for
Migratory Salamanders 260
Suzanne C. Fowle and Scott
M. Melvin
37
Population Manipulations 265
C. Kenneth Dodd, Jr.
38
Exotic Species 271
Walter E. Meshaka, Jr.
39
Protecting Amphibians While
Restoring Fish Populations 275
Debra Patla
40
Reflections Upon Amphibian
Conservation 277
Thomas K. Pauley
S U RVEYS AN D M O N ITO R I N G
282
41
Distribution of South Dakota
Anurans 283
David E. Naugle, Tate D. Fischer,
Kenneth F. Higgins, and Douglas
C. Backlund
42
Nebraska’s Declining
Amphibians 292
David S. McLeod
43
Museum Collections Can Assess
Population Trends 295
Jeff Boundy
44
Monitoring Salamander
Populations in Great Smoky
Mountains National Park 300
Erin J. Hyde and Theodore R. Simons
45
North American Amphibian
Monitoring Program (NAAMP) 307
Linda A. Weir and Michael
J. Mossman
46
Evaluating Calling Surveys 314
Sam Droege and Paige Eagle
47
Geographical Information Systems
and Survey Designs 320
Charles R. Peterson, Stephen R.
Burton, and Debra A. Patla
48
Impacts of Forest Management on
Amphibians 326
Rochelle B. Renken
49
Monitoring Pigment Pattern
Morphs of Northern Leopard Frogs
328
Robert G. McKinnell, David M.
Hoppe, and Beverly K. McKinnell
E D U CATI O N
338
50
The National Amphibian
Conservation Center 339
Andrew T. Snider and Elizabeth
Arbaugh
51
A Thousand Friends of Frogs:
Its Origins 341
Tony P. Murphy
A P E R S P E CTIVE
343
52
Of Men and Deformed Frogs:
A Journalist’s Lament 344
William Souder
PART TWO
Species Accounts 349
Introduction 351
Michael Lannoo, Alisa L. Gallant,
Priya Nanjappa, Laura Blackburn
and Russell Hendricks
AN U RA
381
Ascaphidae 382
Bufonidae 384
Dendrobatidae 440
Hylidae 441
Leptodactylidae 491
Microhylidae 501
Pelobatidae 508
Pipidae 522
Ranidae 526
Rhinophrynidae 599
CAU DATA
601
Ambystomatidae 602
Amphiumidae 642
Cryptobranchidae 648
Dicamptodontidae 651
Plethodontidae 656
Proteidae 866
Rhyacotritonidae 874
Salamandridae 884
Sirenidae 908
FACTORS IMPLICATED IN AMPHIBIAN
POPULATION DECLINES IN THE UNITED
STATES 915
David F. Bradford
CONCLUSION 926
Michael Lannoo
LITERATURE CITED 927
INDEX 1077
VIII
CONTENTS
This work truly represents an effort from the community of
United States herpetologists, and I thank each and every one of
the 215 contributors to this volume for their efforts, for work-
ing with me, and for sharing my views on the necessity and ur-
gency of this effort. I am humbled. I also thank a subset of these
workers, my Advisory Board, for the guidance and perspective
they have offered. Thanks also to Norm Scott, Ronn Altig, and
Erin E. Clark for their constructive comments on an earlier
draft and to Floyd Scott for tracking down citations.
Many other herpetologists have assisted, including Kraig
Adler, James Andrews, Tom Anton, Richard Baker, Val Beasley,
Robert Bezy, Sean Bloomquist, James Bogart, Alvin Breisch,
Janalee Caldwell, Cynthia Carey, Isaac Chellman, James
Collins, Joseph Collins, Jeffrey Davis, Phillip deMaynadier,
Katie Distler, James Dixon, Sara E. Faust, John Ferner, Suzanne
Fowle, Lindsay D. Funk, Alisa Gallant, Carl Gerhardt, Harry
Green, Dave Golden, Robert H. Goodman Jr., Tim Halliday, Dan
Helsel, Laura Herbeck, Richard Highton, Julia Holloway, David
Hoppe, Arthur C. Hulse, Erin Hyde, John Iverson, Robert Jaeger,
Tom R. Johnson, John Jones, Robin E. Jung, Daryl Karns, Robert
Klaver, Jon Klingel, Ted Koch, Ken Lang, William Leonard, Lau-
ren J. Livo, Timothy Maret, Bryce A. Maxell, Kelly McAllister,
Roy McDiarmid, Sherman A. Minton, David J. Morafka, John
Moriarty, Stephen Morreale, David Morris, Michael Mossman,
Robert W. Murphy, David Naugle, Holly Niederriter, George
Oliver, Deanna Olson, Stanley Orchard, Joseph H.K. Pech-
mann, Stephen A. Perrill, Charles Peterson, James Petranka,
Tom Pluto, Andrew H. Price, John O. Reiss, Alan Resetar, Alan
Savitzky, Greg Schneider, A. Floyd Scott, Stan Sessions, Doug
Siegel, Melody Stoneham, Bruce Taubert, Howard Whiteman,
Jill A. Wicknick, David Withers, and Richard Wassersug. I thank
Jim Petranka for his fine book, and the organizers and the nu-
merous contributors of the Catalogue of American Amphibians
and Reptiles—you have made a portion of our job much easier.
This project has been supported by funding provided by the
following agencies or organizations: National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation; Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund; Partners in
Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC); USGS National
Mapping Division; USGS EROS Data Center; Office of the
Provost (Warren Vander Hill) and Faculty Publications Com-
mittee (Ione DeOllos), Ball State University; Office of Academic
Research and Sponsored Programs ( James Pyle, Kristi Koriath),
Ball State University; Virginia Herpetological Society; City of
Elkhart (Indiana) Environmental Science Center; and Linn
County (Iowa) Environmental Council. I am grateful. I am also
grateful for the following technical support I have received
from the staff at Ball State University: Contracts and Grants Of-
fice (Sharon Armbrust, Sharon Harris) and Library Services ( Jan
Vance).
The research in this volume was supported by an array of
federal (e.g., The National Science Foundation and the USGS’s
Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative), state, and pri-
vate organizations. The authors acknowledge and are grateful
for this support. Similarly, the authors acknowledge and thank
the many people that contributed their unpublished observa-
tions, local knowledge, and critical comments.
This project could not have been done without the talents
and dedication of my team: Priya Nanjappa, Laura Blackburn,
Laura Guderyahn, Donna Helfst, Molly Schaller, Jason Hall,
Marti Tiedeman, Chris Lawhorn, and Susan Johnson Lannoo.
Thanks to you all. And finally, a special thanks to Dick and Debby
Baker, Gary Casper, Bob Cruden, Bill Cummings, Joe Eastman,
Alisa Gallant, Ken Lang, Susie Lannoo, Barb Mendenhall, Hank
Miguel, Ole Oldefest, Jane Shuttleworth, Bill Souder, Dan Suther-
land, Arnold van der Valk, and Judy and Mark Wehrspann—each
a biologist in their own way. They have learned, independent of
each other, that the necessity to live life is at least as important as
the drive to study life; and that’s why we are friends.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
IX
