Amphibian and Reptile Biology

Amphibians are vanishing faster than almost any other vertebrate group, driven by a convergence of pressures that includes the fungal disease chytridiomycosis, accelerating climate shifts, and the steady fragmentation of wetland and forest habitats. Researchers working at the intersection of herpetology, disease ecology, and conservation biology are trying to untangle how these stressors interact—whether a warming climate amplifies or suppresses the spread of the pathogen *Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis*, for instance, remains an active and contested question. Phylogenetic analysis is helping scientists understand which lineages face the greatest extinction risk and why some species persist while closely related ones collapse. A central challenge going forward is translating this mechanistic understanding into conservation strategies that can operate at the landscape scale, where habitat loss and disease pressure seldom act in isolation.

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Keywords

Amphibian DeclinesChytridiomycosisClimate ChangeBiodiversity LossPathogen ImpactHabitat Fragmentation