The American Southwest is a dryland region with variable, seasonal precipitation, and a wide range of freshwater habitats. Amphibians are among the diverse freshwater taxa that rely on aquatic habitats of the southwest, yet the state‐of‐the‐science regarding vulnerability of the region’s amphibians to threats recognized globally is unclear. To address this knowledge gap, we reviewed 81 publications and 341 species:threat relationships to assess coverage in the peer‐reviewed literature of potential threats to 35 amphibians native to the region. We classified threats into three major categories: climate change, biological, and land use. Using a new trait database for anurans (frogs and toads) of the United States, we evaluated these threats in the context of life history diversity of the region's anurans. We found high coverage for hydrological alteration and introduced species as well as changes to community dynamics, land use, and precipitation. Other potential threats—particularly those linked to climate change such as changes in seasonality and fire—had comparatively low coverage. Coverage varied widely among species, with the number of reported species:threat relationships ranging from 37 (the lowland leopard frog, Lithobates yavapaiensis) to no coverage for some species—including some of conservation concern (e.g., Sacramento Mountains salamander, Aneides hardii). Our findings support leveraging available information to test hypothesized linkages between amphibian life histories and risk and response to threats; using high coverage species and threats to inform simulations and experiments exploring species:threat relationships and efficacy of management strategies; and addressing knowledge gaps for species and threats with no proxies through on‐the‐ground natural history efforts.

中文翻译：

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干旱地区水生生物分类的威胁：美国西南部两栖动物的知识差距和认识领域

美国西南部是一个干旱的地区，季节性降水变化多端，淡水栖息地范围广泛。两栖动物是依赖西南部水生生境的各种淡水生物群之一，但是关于该地区两栖动物对全球公认威胁的脆弱性的科学性尚不清楚。为了解决这一知识鸿沟，我们审查了81种出版物和341种：威胁关系，以评估同行评审文献中对该地区35种两栖动物潜在威胁的覆盖范围。我们将威胁分为三大类：气候变化，生物和土地利用。我们使用了美国无脊椎动物（青蛙和蟾蜍）的新特征数据库，在该地区无脊椎动物的生活史多样性背景下评估了这些威胁。我们发现水文变化和引进物种以及群落动态，土地利用和降水变化的覆盖率很高。其他潜在威胁（尤其是与气候变化相关的威胁，例如季节性变化和火灾）的覆盖率相对较低。物种之间的覆盖率差异很大，据报道的物种数量：威胁关系为37种（低地豹蛙，yavapaiensis（Liavabates yavapaiensis）并未覆盖某些物种-包括一些需要保护的物种（例如，萨克拉曼多山脉am，Aneides hardii）。我们的发现支持利用现有信息来测试两栖动物的生活史与风险和对威胁的反应之间的假设联系；利用高覆盖率的物种和威胁为模拟和实验提供信息，以探索物种：威胁关系和管理策略的有效性；通过实地自然历史工作，解决了没有代理的物种和威胁知识缺口。