Why conduct amphibian research at a research center devoted to wilderness? Although amphibian diversity in western wilderness is typically low, amphibians occupy important ecological niches, and declines have been excessively severe in the western U.S. Declines have also been noted in designated wilderness and backcountry areas of National Parks, which are generally considered to be refuges for protecting species. Amphibian decline has emerged as a major global conservation issue in the last decade. Stephen Corn, US Geological Survey (USGS) Research Zoologist stationed at the Leopold Institute, is the coordinator of the USGS Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative's (ARMI) Rocky Mountain Region, which includes Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. The goals of the ARMI are to detect trends in amphibian populations and conduct research into causes of declines. Several projects related to amphibian declines have been recently concluded or are underway at the Leopold Institute.

Leopold Institute sponsored, along with USGS, a  fish stocking workshop.
The proceedings have been published in Ecosystems. 2001. Vol. 4, No. 4.

Introduced Predators in Wilderness Lakes

In 1998, the Leopold Institute organized a workshop to bring managers, researchers, and the public together to exchange ideas and hear the latest research on the effects of fish stocking in wilderness lakes. In June 2001, six papers developed from that workshop were published in the journal Ecosystems (http://link.springer.de/link/service/journals/10021/tocs/t1004004.html). Topics of papers included the history of fish stocking in California, a review of case law, agency policies, and Federal-State agreements relating to the Wilderness Act and fisheries management, effects of stocking on amphibian populations, effects on native fish downstream from headwaters lakes, alteration of algal communities and nutrient cycling, and recovery of plankton communities following removal of trout.

Amphibians and Ultraviolet Radiation in National Parks

Increased UV radiation resulting from thinning stratospheric ozone has received considerable attention as a cause of amphibian declines, but it is a controversial area of research. Research in Glacier National Park is one component of a larger project involving National Parks that belong to PRIMENet, a system of 14 parks chosen by the National Park Service and US Environmental Protection Agency to serve as index sites for long-term monitoring of environmental quality. This research compared amphibian distributions to habitat variables, included estimated exposure to UV, among Glacier, Olympic, and Sequoia-King's Canyon National Parks. Data analysis is ongoing, but amphibian distributions were generally unrelated to UV exposure.

Amphibian Monitoring

Long-term monitoring of amphibian populations is a primary goal of ARMI. As a first step, inventories have been initiated in Glacier and Theodore Roosevelt National Parks, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (including Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks), and National Wildlife Refuges in Montana and Idaho. The Leopold Institute is also collaborating with the University of Montana on surveys of National Forests in Montana, funded by Region 1. Trends will be detected by tracking changes in the percent of habitats occupied, so surveys are being conducted to determine presence of amphibians at wetlands within randomly selected watersheds.

Effects of Prescribed and Wildland Fire on Aquatic Ecosystems in Western Forests

Prescription burning and certain lightning-ignited wildland fires are increasingly important management tools used to reduce fuel loads and restore the ecological integrity of western forests. Two studies, one funded by the Region 1/Region4/Rocky Mountain Research Station National Fire Plan Adaptive Management and Monitoring Program, and one funded by the Joint Fire Sciences Program and conducted in collaboration with the USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center in Corvallis, Oregon, use an ecosystem approach to study the effects of prescribed and wildland fires on stream and pond communities by monitoring amphibians, invertebrates, periphyton, and aquatic habitat conditions. The results of these studies, initiated in 2001, will provide critical information necessary for managers to evaluate the immediate and long-term effects of alternative fire management activities on stream ecosystems, and assess how fire management affects the ecological integrity of aquatic ecosystems.