A pond of knowledge: applying multi-disciplinary approaches to amphibian conservation

Habitat degradation due to intensive agriculture and urbanization is the most important contributing factor to amphibian diversity loss in Europe, particularly in the Mediterranean region. As their natural habitats decrease, amphibians often resort to using artificial water bodies as reproductive sites. Here, using presence data from an environmental DNA-based monitoring study on amphibian biodiversity from 37 freshwater sites in the Province of Trento (including both protected areas and artificial or human- impacted water bodies), we used a multivariate analysis, integrated with regression tests, to identify distinct presence/absence patterns in relation to ecological and landscape variables that are known to significantly influence the structure of the amphibian community. For example, we show that farm ponds may be important reproductive sites for amphibians, with a higher species richness than expected, even though these habitats have been virtually ignored in monitoring programmes up to now. This study provides methodological improvements by generating ‘ecological condition indices’, which can be applied to identifying meaningful correlations between the environment, human behaviour and amphibian species, i.e. powerful transdisciplinary tools with applications in endangered species monitoring, environmental and landscape assessment, urban ecology and policy development, in relation to habitat alterations accelerated by climate changes and/or other environmental crises.