Date of Graduation

Spring 5-18-2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Biology

College/School

College of Arts and Sciences

Department/Program

Biology

First Advisor

Dr. Jennifer Dever

Second Advisor

Dr. Patrica Francis-Lyon

Third Advisor

Dr. Naupaka Zimmerman

Abstract

In the midst of the sixth mass extinction event which is currently underway, it appears that amphibians are one of the most impacted vertebrates. Over 6,500 amphibian species are listed on the IUCN Red List (an assessment tool which provides species’ conservation status, perceived threats, and distribution range). While it is well-known that populations under multiple stressors are more likely to undergo significant declines, there are little to no resources available for visualizing how these threats may work synergistically and interact within a species’ range. This is especially the case for Southeast Asian amphibians, which much less attention has been paid as compared to other parts of the globe. While the IUCN Red List provides a description of threats affecting species and categorizes species into Red List Categories (Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered), this data is not easily accessible for wide-scale analyses. The aims of this project were as follows: (1) utilize bioinformatics to increase accessibility to IUCN Red List data, (2) analyze the IUCN data repository to identify trends in South and South East Asian amphibian threat data, and (3) plot IUCN threat data.

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