Amphibians are an important part of Yellowstone’s aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Many of Yellowstone’s reptiles, birds, mammals, and fish prey on larval and adult amphibians and amphibians, in turn, eat a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate species. Amphibians are also sensitive to disease, pollution, drought, variations in annual snowpack, and the arrival of nonnative species; these documented sensitivities make them valuable indicators to environmental change. Amphibians often congregate in large numbers for breeding or overwintering. As a result, they can be adversely affected by localized disturbance or the loss of individual breeding or overwintering sites. Amphibian populations that are affected by one or more of these stresses may exhibit changes in their distribution or abundance. These changes can, in turn, have cascading effects on other aspects of the ecosystem.
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