Vulnerability of Philippine amphibians to climate change

College

College of Science

Department/Unit

Biology

Document Type

Article

Source Title

Philippine Journal of Science

Volume

140

Issue

1

First Page

77

Last Page

87

Publication Date

6-2012

Abstract

There are currently recognized 107 species of Philippine amphibians. In addition, several possible new species await formal taxonomic description. Most of them occupy microhabitats in moist or wet tropical rainforests. Based primarily on their known reproductive modes and microhabitats (including altitudinal distributions), the vulnerability of each amphibian species was assessed. The results of our assessment indicate that 26 species (24.30%) are Highly Vulnerable, 48 species (44.86%) are Moderately Vulnerable, 27 species (25.23%) are Vulnerable, and 6 species (5.61%) are Least Vulnerable to climate change. However, this preliminary assessment is tentative and requires verification through field studies using other sets of indicators. Additionally, virtually all new species currently awaiting description are known from forested mountain habitats. These species are deemed disproportionately susceptible to climate change. Thus, the percentages of vulnerable taxa are expected to climb sharply with ongoing taxonomic and ecological studies.

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Disciplines

Biology

Keywords

Amphibians—Philippines; Amphibians—Climatic factors—Philippines

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