Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

The USGS is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research into questions of major interest to the conservation of amphibians focused on field and laboratory work on the boreal toad (Anaxyrus boreas), a state-listed endangered species, and other amphibians sharing the habitat used by boreal toads (e.g. tiger salamanders, chorus frogs, wood frogs). This project has spill-over application to the conservation of amphibian species targeted for pre-listing (e.g., Arizona toads), and herpetofaunal conservation in general. Climate change is of particular interest in species that are already living at the limits of their elevational range (such as boreal toads). For example, changes in how precipitation occurs at high elevations (snow vs rain) has already been noted, and the length and severity of drought is increasing; increasing temperatures can modify active seasons, potentially providing opportunities for toads, but also for disease or invasive species. Predictions about community, species, and disease responses to changes in climate are critical components of management and mitigation plans.