Diversity 2009, 1(2), 102-117; doi:10.3390/d1020102
Article

Can a Single Amphibian Species Be a Good Biodiversity Indicator?

David Sewell* email and Richard A. Griffithsemail
Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Marlowe Building, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NR, UK
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 27 September 2009 / Accepted: 11 November 2009 / Published: 13 November 2009
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Amphibian Conservation)
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Abstract: Although amphibians have been widely promoted as indicators of biodiversity and environmental change, rigorous tests are lacking. Here key indicator criteria are distilled from published papers, and a species that has been promoted as a bioindicator, the great crested newt, is tested against them. Although a link was established between the presence of great crested newts and aquatic plant diversity, this was not repeated with the diversity of macroinvertebrates. Equally, amphibians do not meet many of the published criteria of bioindicators. Our research suggests that a suite of indicators, rather than a single species, will usually be required.
Keywords: bioindicator; indicator; amphibian; biodiversity; environmental change; macroinvertebrate; aquatic plant

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Sewell, D.; Griffiths, R.A. Can a Single Amphibian Species Be a Good Biodiversity Indicator? Diversity 2009, 1, 102-117.

AMA Style

Sewell D, Griffiths RA. Can a Single Amphibian Species Be a Good Biodiversity Indicator? Diversity. 2009; 1(2):102-117.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sewell, David; Griffiths, Richard A. 2009. "Can a Single Amphibian Species Be a Good Biodiversity Indicator?" Diversity 1, no. 2: 102-117.

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