| Understanding Agriculture's Effects on Amphibians and Reptiles in a Changing World
Note: If appropriate, please consider presenting any work you have done that addresses these questions.
Questions for presenters:
- What are the direct and indirect effects of various agricultural practices on amphibian and reptile populations? What is the evidence?
- How do agricultural stressors interact with non-agricultural stressors to affect amphibians and reptiles?
- Do agricultural practices influence the incidences of diseases and developmental abnormalities in amphibians and reptiles?
- How might climate change affect agroecosystems, agricultural practices, and subsequently amphibians and reptiles?
- Will increased production of biofuels change the dynamics of agricultural practices and their effects on amphibians and reptiles?
- What do we know about the possible direct and indirect effects of genetically engineered organisms on agroecosystems and amphibians and reptiles?
- Which modeling techniques can be used to integrate data from different scales and disciplines to describe and predict effects of agricultural and non-agricultural stressors on amphibians and reptiles?
- How do agricultural practices and rates of change in those practices around the world compare geographically with biodiversity and known declines of amphibians and reptiles?
- How will changing economic drivers and needs for agricultural products likely affect agricultural practices around the world in the foreseeable future?
- Based upon current and predicted agricultural production, in combination with other stressors, which areas/species of amphibians and reptiles are of greatest conservation concern worldwide?
- Are agroecosystems helping amphibian and reptile populations to persist in the face of urban development?
- How can we assess risks agricultural practices and other stressors pose to amphibian and reptile populations now and in the future?
- Are amphibians and reptiles valuable bioindicators of ecological health in agroecosystems?
- Is amphibian and reptile biodiversity reflective of greater biodiversity in agroecosystems?
- Which conservation practices have been shown to benefit amphibians and reptiles and how do they work?
- How can conservation practices/programs be improved for amphibians, reptiles, and farmers?
- Are there new innovative strategies for improving habitat quantity and quality in agroecosystems?
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U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
