Vulnerability of Philippine Amphibians to climate change
2012
Alcala, A.C. | Bucol, A.A. | Diesmos, A.C. | Brown, R.M.
There are currently recognized 107 species of Philippine amphibians. In addition, several possible new species await formal taxonomic description. Most of them occupy microhabitats in moist or wet tropical rainforests. Based primarily on their known reproductive modes and microhabitats (including altitudinal distributions), the vulnerability of each amphibian species was assessed. The results of the author's assessment indicate that 26 species (24.30%) are Highly Vulnerable, 48 species (44.86%) are Moderately Vulnerable, 27 species (25.23%) are Vulnerable, and 6 species (5.61%) are Least Vulnerable to climate change. However, this preliminary assessment is tentative and requires verification through field studies using other sets of indicators. Additionally, virtually all new species currently awaiting descriptions are known from forested mountain habitats. These species are deemed disproportionately susceptible to climate change. Thus, the percentages of vulnerable taxa are expected to climb sharply with outgoing taxonomic and ecological studies.
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