Rarity and Climate Sensitivity index and components of 90 species of frogs and toads native to the conterminous United States (ver. 2.0, October 2022)
Dates
Time Period
2019-12-01
Publication Date
2022-05-01
Revision
2022-10-11
Citation
DuBose, T.P., Moore, C.E., Silknetter, S., Benson, A.L., Alexander, T., O'Malley, G., and Mims, M.C., 2022, Rarity and Climate Sensitivity index and components of 90 species of frogs and toads native to the conterminous United States (ver. 2.0, October 2022): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9U56Z7W.
Summary
This dataset contains the components of and resultant Rarity and Climate Sensitivity (RCS) values for 90 species of frogs and toads native to the conterminous United States. The RCS metric uses point occurrences to describe area of occurrence, quantifies the variation of climate conditions within that area, and combines and scales the two for a multispecies assessment of intrinsic sensitivity to climate change. The RCS metric was calculated at two geographic extents, the conterminous US and the North American continent. We also used two spatial grains: 1 km buffered occurrence points and small watersheds (Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) 12 watershed boundaries within and HydroBASIN level 12 watershed boundaries outside the conterminous [...]
Summary
This dataset contains the components of and resultant Rarity and Climate Sensitivity (RCS) values for 90 species of frogs and toads native to the conterminous United States. The RCS metric uses point occurrences to describe area of occurrence, quantifies the variation of climate conditions within that area, and combines and scales the two for a multispecies assessment of intrinsic sensitivity to climate change. The RCS metric was calculated at two geographic extents, the conterminous US and the North American continent. We also used two spatial grains: 1 km buffered occurrence points and small watersheds (Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) 12 watershed boundaries within and HydroBASIN level 12 watershed boundaries outside the conterminous US). Point occurrences from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and HerpMapper were used to calculate area of occurrence at each spatial extent and grain size. Climate specificity was calculated by extracting five bioclimatic variables (annual mean temperature, maximum temperature of the warmest month, minimum temperature of the minimum month, annual precipitation, and precipitation seasonality) from the area of occurrence and calculating the area-weighted standard deviation of each climate variable for each species. Rarity, as described by area of occurrence, and climate sensitivity is scaled and combined to form the RCS index. Because we evaluated the relationships among intrinsic sensitivity, taxonomy, and conservation status, species taxonomic family, genera, International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List status, Endangered Species Act status, and Species of Greatest Conservation Need status is included in this dataset. Each row contains the calculated RCS index and its components for two spatial grain sizes for a unique species and spatial extent combination (90 species x 2 spatial extents = 180 rows). First posted - June 27, 2022 (available from author) Revised - October 20, 2022 (version 2.0)
DuBose, T.P., Moore, C.E., Silknetter, S., Benson, A.L., Alexander, T., O’Malley, G., and Mims, M.C., 2023, Mismatch between conservation status and climate change sensitivity leaves some anurans in the United States unprotected: Biological Conservation, v. 277, p. 109866, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109866.
Species vulnerable to climate change face increased extinction risk, but many sensitive species may be overlooked due to limited data and exclusion from vulnerability assessments. Intrinsic sensitivity, or the inherent risk of species to environmental change due to biological factors, can be assessed with widely available data and may address gaps in multispecies vulnerability assessments. The RCS leverages digitally-accessible information to describe geographic rarity and climate sensitivity, making data-rich and data-poor species directly comparable. Area of occupancy and climate sensitivity measures are a reflection of the point occurrences in the originating data and thus should be used with care. The RCS metric and all scaled components are relative to the species pool, spatial extent and spatial grain size of the analysis. As such, the RCS describes relative rank intrinsic sensitivity.
Rights
Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty.
Revision 2.0 completed by Dr. Traci DuBose on 2022-10-11. To review the changes that were made, see revision history document in the attached files section.
