Patterns and biases in climate change research on amphibians and reptiles: a systematic review

Abstract

Climate change probably has severe impacts on animal populations, but demonstrating a causal link can be difficult because of potential influences by additional factors. Assessing global impacts of climate change effects may also be hampered by narrow taxonomic and geographical research foci. We review studies on the effects of climate change on populations of amphibians and reptiles to assess climate change effects and potential biases associated with the body of work that has been conducted within the last decade. We use data from 104 studies regarding the effect of climate on 313 species, from 464 species–study combinations. Climate change effects were reported in 65% of studies. Climate change was identified as causing population declines or range restrictions in half of the cases. The probability of identifying an effect of climate change varied among regions, taxa and research methods. Climatic effects were equally prevalent in studies exclusively investigating climate factors (more than 50% of studies) and in studies including additional factors, thus bolstering confidence in the results of studies exclusively examining effects of climate change. Our analyses reveal biases with respect to geography, taxonomy and research question, making global conclusions impossible. Additional research should focus on under-represented regions, taxa and questions. Conservation and climate policy should consider the documented harm climate change causes reptiles and amphibians.

Contrasting signatures of introgression in North American box turtle (Terrapenespp.) contact zones

“…Our emphasis is that ectothermic vertebrates are exceptionally vulnerable to such contemporary pressures. They pose a high extinction risk due to their strong reliance on environmental thermoregulation, and their dependence on suitable habitat (Gibbons et al 2000; Sinervo et al 2010; Winter et al 2016). Indeed, ectotherms can exhibit reduced fitness and growth-rates when operating in conditions warmer than their thermal optima (Deutsch et al 2008; Martin & Huey 2008; Huey et al 2012; Huey & Kingsolver 2019).…”

Development, validation, and evaluation of an assay for the detection of wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) in environmental DNA

“…Northern wood frogs are a sentinel species for amphibian response to climate change and land development (Benard 2015;Davenport et al 2016;Winter et al 2016). A species of greatest conservation need in Alaska, increased monitoring and research efforts are needed (Fields and Gotthardt 2009).…”

Amphibian responses to livestock use of wetlands: new empirical data and a global review

“…We searched Web of Science and Google Scholar using a series of keywords (Table ) derived from reviews by Winter et al. () and Schieltz and Rubenstein (). Each combination of these search terms was used to search both databases.…”

“…The goal of our review was to synthesize all available literature on impacts of livestock grazing on amphibians. We searched Web of Science and Google Scholar using a series of keywords (Table 1) derived from reviews by Winter et al (2018) and Schieltz and Rubenstein (2016). Each combination of these search terms was used to search both databases.…”