Human-provoked amphibian decline in central Italy and the efficacy of protected areas

Détails

ID Serval
serval:BIB_7D6F90BCEB14
Type
Article: article d'un périodique ou d'un magazine.
Collection
Publications
Titre
Human-provoked amphibian decline in central Italy and the efficacy of protected areas
Périodique
Wildlife Research
Auteur⸱e⸱s
D'Amen Manuela, Pietrangeli Biancamaria, Bologna Marco A.
ISSN
1035-3712
ISSN-L
1035-3712
Statut éditorial
Publié
Date de publication
2010
Volume
37
Numéro
7
Pages
547-557
Langue
anglais
Notes
ISI:000285392300002
Résumé
Context. Today, more than 32% of amphibian species are threatened and more than 43% face a steep decline in numbers. Most species are being affected simultaneously by multiple stressors and habitat protection is often inadequate to prevent declines.
Aims. The main goal of the present research was to understand the consequences of alternative human land use in producing landscape disturbance for amphibians. At the same time, we also evaluated the effect of changing climatic conditions as additional potential drivers of population decline. Another goal was to determine whether and to what extent the existing nature reserves have been effective in protecting species in recent decades.
Methods. We used generalised additive models (GAMs) to investigate the association between the state (stable/decline) of amphibian populations in 5 x 5 km cells in central Italy and proxies of different typology of anthropogenic stressors, climatic variables and protection measures.
Key results. We found a significant association between anthropogenic landscape modifications and species decline. This negative relationship was revealed with agricultural predictors for the majority of the species, whereas urban fabrics had a slightly smaller impact. We found significant associations between amphibian declines and climatic variation, particularly the increasing number of dry days. Protected areas protected declines of two species only.
Conclusions. Our results showed that the status of amphibians in this region warrants greater attention than has been given previously. The detrimental effect of agricultural practices, combined with increasing aridity, makes amphibian populations particularly susceptible to extinction, and the conservation measures applied till now are inadequate for species protection in this region.
Implications. Our results should stimulate the implementation of environmental policies that focus not only on the protection of single habitats, but also on ensuring the environmental quality of the surrounding landscapes. Moreover, an adaptive management approach should be applied to take into account future modification of hydrology and climate.
Mots-clé
amphibian extinction, climate change, land cover, natural reserves
Web of science
Création de la notice
24/10/2013 10:10
Dernière modification de la notice
20/08/2019 14:38
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