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Amphibian monitoring in the Atchafalaya Basin

Fact Sheet 2011-3056
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Abstract

Amphibians are a diverse group of animals that includes frogs, toads, and salamanders. They are adapted to living in a variety of habitats, but most require water for at least one life stage. Amphibians have recently become a worldwide conservation concern because of declines and extinctions even in remote protected areas previously thought to be safe from the pressures of habitat loss and degradation. Amphibians are an important part of ecosystem dynamics because they can be quite abundant and serve both as a predator of smaller organisms and as prey to a suite of vertebrate predators. Their permeable skin and aquatic life history also make them useful as indicators of ecosystem health. Since 2002, the U.S. Geological Survey has been studying the frog and toad species inhabiting the Atchafalaya Basin to monitor for population declines and to better understand how the species are potentially affected by disease, environmental contaminants, and climate change.

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Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Amphibian monitoring in the Atchafalaya Basin
Series title Fact Sheet
Series number 2011-3056
DOI 10.3133/fs20113056
Year Published 2011
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) National Wetlands Research Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
Description 4 p.
Country United States
State Louisiana
Other Geospatial Atchafalaya Basin
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
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