Evaluating the impact of environmental factors on amphibian abundance and reproductive output in the Santa Monica Mountains
Presentation Type
Poster
Presentation Type
Submission
Keywords
Climate change, Invasive species, Ecosystem health, Amphibians, Biodiversity
Department
Biology
Major
Biology
Abstract
Climate change continues to drastically alter environmental conditions, particularly in California’s freshwater ecosystems. Understanding the importance of climate change-associated stressors over time is crucial for species conservation and predicting how populations will respond under future climate scenarios. Using long-term amphibian monitoring data paired with publicly available environmental data, we employed random forest models to identify the most significant drivers of amphibian abundance in the Santa Monica Mountains over the past 25 years. Temperature and precipitation variables were tremendously important across three dominant amphibian species, while the importance of drought, invasive species, fire, and other predictors varied depending on life stage. Our results highlight the importance of conservation efforts that consider the secondary effects of climate change as a primary determinant of amphibian abundance in this region. Further research will focus on developing predictive models to understand how the most significant climatic variables will impact the abundance of these target species throughout the remainder of the century.
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Lee B. Kats
Funding Source or Research Program
Not Identified
Location
Waves Cafeteria
Start Date
10-4-2026 1:00 PM
End Date
10-4-2026 2:00 PM
Evaluating the impact of environmental factors on amphibian abundance and reproductive output in the Santa Monica Mountains
Waves Cafeteria
Climate change continues to drastically alter environmental conditions, particularly in California’s freshwater ecosystems. Understanding the importance of climate change-associated stressors over time is crucial for species conservation and predicting how populations will respond under future climate scenarios. Using long-term amphibian monitoring data paired with publicly available environmental data, we employed random forest models to identify the most significant drivers of amphibian abundance in the Santa Monica Mountains over the past 25 years. Temperature and precipitation variables were tremendously important across three dominant amphibian species, while the importance of drought, invasive species, fire, and other predictors varied depending on life stage. Our results highlight the importance of conservation efforts that consider the secondary effects of climate change as a primary determinant of amphibian abundance in this region. Further research will focus on developing predictive models to understand how the most significant climatic variables will impact the abundance of these target species throughout the remainder of the century.