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| Global Amphibian Declines database | |
|---|---|
| Name | Global Amphibian Declines database |
| Type | biodiversity database |
| Owner | Amphibian Specialist Group |
| Launched | 2000s |
| Language | English |
| Current status | active |
Global Amphibian Declines database
The Global Amphibian Declines database is a comprehensive repository documenting population trends, extinctions, and threats affecting amphibian species worldwide. It aggregates field surveys, museum records, and conservation assessments to inform policy decisions and scientific research across institutions such as the IUCN, World Wildlife Fund, Convention on Biological Diversity, United Nations Environment Programme, and regional bodies. The dataset has been used by organizations including the Smithsonian Institution, Royal Society, National Science Foundation, Natural History Museum, London, and WWF International to prioritize conservation actions and revise species assessments.
The database compiles occurrence records, trend metrics, and threat classifications for anurans, caecilians, and salamanders from sources such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, AmphibiaWeb, Museum of Comparative Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, and national surveys. It links taxonomic authorities like the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature and integrates red list status from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Stakeholders include the Amphibian Specialist Group, regional conservation NGOs, academic programs at Harvard University, University of Oxford, University of California, Berkeley, and government agencies such as the United States Geological Survey and Environment Canada.
Initiated in response to global reports of declines publicized in venues like the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and meetings of the World Conservation Congress, the project drew expertise from herpetologists associated with the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, the Herpetologists' League, and university research groups at Stanford University, University of Florida, and University of São Paulo. Early collaborators included curators at the Natural History Museum, Berlin and data scientists from the European Commission research programmes. Funding and visibility increased after conferences hosted by the Royal Society and policy briefings to the Convention on Biological Diversity COP meetings.
Records cover species-level entries across biogeographic regions recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, including the Amazon Basin, Congo Basin, Southeast Asian rainforests, Madagascar, and island systems like the Galápagos Islands and Hawaiian Islands. Content categories encompass distribution maps linked to institutions like the Natural History Museum, London and trait matrices used by researchers at the Max Planck Society, population trend series employed by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, and pathogen occurrence datasets tied to work by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Organisation for Animal Health. Taxonomic treatments reference monographs published by the Oxford University Press and checklists produced by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.
Data ingestion follows standards from the Darwin Core schema and biodiversity informatics practices promoted by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG). Quality control integrates voucher verification from institutions like the Field Museum, genetic confirmation linked to sequencing projects at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, and georeferencing consistent with guidelines from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Threat coding aligns with criteria from the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria and assessment protocols developed by the Amphibian Specialist Group and peer-reviewed in journals such as Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Analyses using the database have been cited in assessments of chytridiomycosis spread researched by teams at the University of Exeter and the University of Melbourne, in syntheses of habitat loss in papers involving the World Resources Institute and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and in policy reports produced for the United Nations and the European Union. Findings highlighted elevated extinction risk in regions including the Andes, Mesoamerica, and Southeast Asia, informing conservation priorities for organizations like the Conservation International and the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. The dataset contributed to species recovery plans coordinated with agencies such as the US Fish and Wildlife Service and influenced funding decisions by the National Geographic Society and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Access policies reflect norms from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and institutional repositories at the Smithsonian Institution and Natural History Museum, London, with metadata complying with standards set by the Open Data Charter and licensing options analogous to Creative Commons frameworks. Data use for research has been governed by memoranda involving universities such as the University of Cambridge and governmental partners including the Australian Government Department of the Environment. Data citation practices reference guidelines from the Committee on Publication Ethics and publishers like Elsevier and Springer Nature.
The project has been sustained through collaborations among the IUCN, the Amphibian Specialist Group, academic partners at Yale University and Columbia University, and conservation NGOs like Fauna & Flora International and BirdLife International for cross-taxa integration. Funding and support have come from bodies such as the National Science Foundation, the European Commission Horizon 2020 programme, philanthropic donors including the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and in-kind contributions from museums like the California Academy of Sciences. International coordination has involved the United Nations Environment Programme and regional networks such as the African Union biodiversity initiatives.
Category:Biological databases Category:Amphibians