DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Limits to Species' Distributions: A Landscape Genetic Study of Two Amphibian Species in Yellowstone National Park

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A primary goal of evolutionary ecology is to understand species distributions and population persistence. The emerging field of landscape genetics provides new ways to address this goal and is ideal for amphibians because their distributions are sensitive to characteristics of the landscape, such as moisture, roads, elevation, and land use change. Two amphibians, the boreal toad and boreal chorus frog, in Yellowstone National Park were selected for study because they represent differences in distribution and abundance, i.e., patchy and declining vs. continuous and abundant, respectively. The proposed research will use genetic data and model the effect of landscape characteristics to explain differences in 1) species dispersal, 2) species distributions (i.e., patchy vs. continuous), and 3) population persistence.Research results will enhance the Greater Yellowstone Network Inventory and Monitoring project and be shared to aid management decisions. As public outreach, educational activities related to the research will be developed for Yellowstone visitors. Environmental factors influencing amphibian dispersal and decline will be identified, which may be important for understanding amphibian declines in other locations. For broader conservation application, novel techniques developed in this project could potentially be applied in any species to identify dispersal barriers, predict impacts of land use alternatives, and prioritize conservation areas.