Amphibian and Reptile Declines at La Selva, Costa Rica:
Patterns and Processes in a Collapsing Tropical Herpetofauna
Declining amphibian populations have emerged as a critical issue in
conservation ecology in the past 30 years, but lack of data on amphibian
populations severely inhibits our ability to detect declines - particularly in
the highly diverse tropical regions where fauna are poorly known. During
the past few years, I have worked with a group of collaborators to review
population densities of amphibians and reptiles from La Selva Biological
Station, a 1600ha lowland wet forest reserve in the Northeastern lowlands of
Costa Rica. La Selva is one of the few sites throughout the tropics where
amphibians - and reptiles - have been sampled repeatedly over several decades.
While we initially expected to use La Selva to explore population variability of
populations of amphibians and reptiles, we instead detected severe declines in
populations of all species of amphibians and reptiles for which we have data.
Today at La Selva Biological station, densities of forest-floor frogs and
lizards are about 1/4 of densities sustained throughout the 1970s, and all
species for which there are sufficient data show significant decline.
While we have recently reported this unexpected long-term decline, we remain
unsure of which factors are contributing to these declines. Current
research at La Selva and in the surrounding region aims to understand what
processes have contributed to these declines. In particular, we are
interested in the roles of habitat fragmentation, infection by the amphibian
chytrid fungus, and global climate change.
This research has been covered by a number of national and local news agencies:
Frog, Lizard Extinctions Caused by Climate, Not Fungus, Study Suggests - National Geographic News
No Refuge for Dwindling Amphibian Populations - Scientific American
Reptiles join amphibians in mysterious decline - New Scientist
Death in the rainforest: fragile creatures give the world a new climate warning - Guardian Unlimited
Litter critters hit : Journal Watch Online
'Fewer leaves' behind frog demise - BBC NEWS
Warming kicks frogs while they're down - MSNBC.com
Lizards join frogs in rapid decline - ES&T Online News
Aumento de temperatura atrasa crecimiento de bosque tico - La Nacion