Journal article
Impacts of climate change and urban development on the spotted marsh frog (Limnodynastes tasmaniensis)
JN Wilson, S Bekessy, KM Parris, A Gordon, GW Heard, BA Wintle
Austral Ecology | Published : 2013
Abstract
Climate change and urbanization are among the most serious threats to amphibians, although little is known about their combined effects. We used a predictive spatial habitat suitability model to explore the potential impacts of climate change and urban development on the spotted marsh frog (Limnodynastes tasmaniensis) on the urban-fringe of Melbourne, Australia. The CSIRO climate-change predictions for the region indicate likely temperature increases of 3°C, and annual rainfall reductions of around 200mm by the year 2070. Much of the study area overlaps a region that has been identified as one of the city's growth corridors. We used Bayesian logistic regression modelling to estimate current ..
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Awarded by Australian Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Mick McCarthy, Bill Langford, Georgia Garrard, Rory Nathen (Sinclaire Knights Merz) and Jane Elith for advice and constructive comments. Data pertaining to the study sites were collected in collaboration with Peter Robertson, Michael Scroggie and Brian Malone, and collection of these data was made possible by funding from the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment, the Growling Grass Frog Trust Fund (consisting of DSE, Australian Gas Limited and Friends of Merri Creek) and La Trobe University. This work was supported by an Honours scholarship from the Australian Greenhouse Office and Australian Research Council grant (LP0454979) for which there are a number of industry partners: The Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts; Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority; Hume City Council; the City of Whittlesea; and Stockland property developers. This work forms part of the Applied Environmental Decision Analysis (AEDA) CERF collaboration supported by the Commonwealth Department of Environment and Water Resources.