Table 1 Summary of effects of wildfire on amphibian populations and their habitats in the western United States. Studies are sorted by species, with the direction of the response (if apparent) indicated. Timeline refers to number of years before and after the wildfire occurred. The superscripted letter references the study, listed below the table.
Species | Location | Timeframe Effect | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ambystoma macrodactylum a | Western Montana | −3 to +3 | none | No change in occupancy of breeding sites. |
Anaxyrus californicus b | Southern California | −2 to +1 | positive | Increased breeding after post-fire transport of coarse sediments to low-gradient streams. |
Anaxyrus boreas a | Western Montana | −3 to +3 | positive | Colonization of several wetlands after they burned. |
Anaxyrus boreas a | Western Montana | −4 to +1 | positive | Colonization of several wetlands after they burned. |
Anaxyrus boreas c | Western Montana | +1 | positive | Adults used severely burned forest more than expected. |
Anaxyrus boreas d | Northeastern Oregon | +6 to +10 | none | No selection for burned habitats by adults. |
Anaxyrus boreas e | Western Wyoming | +16 to +18 | positive | Greater gene flow among populations near areas burned in 1988. |
Anaxyrus boreas f | Southern California | −5 to +2 | none | Reduced occupancy of terrestrial plots in chaparral habitats but no change in abundance. No change in occupancy or abundance in grassland, coastal sage scrub, or woodland-riparian habitats. |
Ascaphus montanus g | Western Montana | −2 to +2 | negative | Reduced relative abundance and a shift in age-class structure of larvae. |
Ascaphus montanus h | Idaho | +9 to +11 | none | No difference in patch occupancy by larvae. |
Batrachoseps major f | Southern California | −5 to +2 | negative, none | Reduced occupancy of terrestrial plots in chaparral habitats. No change in occupancy in grassland, coastal sage scrub, or woodland-riparian habitats. |
Lithobatesy avapaiensis i | Southern Arizona | +5 to +15 | negative | Persistent sedimentation of breeding habitats linked to declines in frog counts. |
Plethodon elongatus j | Northern California | +1 to +2 | negative | Less frequent detection associated with more severe wildfire and loss of cover. |
Plethodon neomexicanus k | Northern New Mexico | −4 to +4 | negative, none | Change in size classes toward more small salamanders and fewer adults. No change in body condition. |
Plethodon spp.l | Western Oregon | +2 | mixed | Weak support for lower surface occupancy by 5 species of plethodontid salamanders. |
Pseudacris regilla f | Southern California | −5 to +2 | none | No change in occupancy or abundance in terrestrial plots. |
Rana luteiventris a | Western Montana | −3 to +3 | none | No change in occupancy of breeding sites. |
Rana muscosa m | Southern California | −2 to +1 | negative | Likely extirpation of a population of federally endangered R. muscosa after fire and debris flows. |
Taricha torosa n | Southern California | −1 to +3 | negative | Fewer egg masses after landslides reduced pool and run habitats in streams. |