title: Dramatic declines in neotropical salamander populations are an important part of the global amphibian crisis.
abstract: We document major declines of many species of salamanders at several sites in Central America and Mexico, with emphasis on the San Marcos region of Guatemala, one of the best studied and most diverse salamander communities in the Neotropics. Profound declines of several formerly abundant species, including 2 apparent extinctions, are revealed. Terrestrial microhabitat specialists at mid- to high elevations have declined more than microhabitat generalists. These terrestrial microhabitat specialists have largely disappeared from multiple sites in western Guatemala, including in well-protected areas, suggesting that the phenomenon cannot be explained solely by localized habitat destruction. Major declines in southern Mexican plethodontid salamanders occurred in the late 1970s to early 1980s, concurrent with or preceding many reported frog declines. The species in decline comprise several major evolutionary lineages of tropical salamanders, underscoring that significant portions of the phylogenetic diversity of Neotropical salamanders are at risk. Our results highlight the urgent need to document and understand Neotropical salamander declines as part of the larger effort to conserve global amphibian diversity.
authors.affiliation: Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3160, USA.
authors.forename: Sean M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Rovito
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Parra-Olea
authors.forename: Carlos R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Vásquez-Almazán
authors.forename: Theodore J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Papenfuss
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Wake
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D008800:Mexico; D011157:Population Dynamics; D013997:Time Factors; D014329:Tropical Climate; D014562:Caudata / Q000502:physiology*