Amphibian population declines: Putting disease in perspective

Tim Halliday

Declining Amphibian Population Task Force, Department of Biology, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, United Kingdom

Since the declining amphibian population (DAP) phenomenon was first recognised in 1989, a great deal of research has been carried out, much of it motivated, implicitly or explicitly, by the search for 'a smoking gun', that is, a single factor that explains all DAPs. As information about DAPs has acculumated in the last ten years, it has become increasingly clear that, with the exception of habitat loss, no single causal factor is a good candidate as a universal explanation. Moreover, it has also become apparent that amphibians are by no means unique. Against this background, I will suggest a number of questions that need to be addressed by those who are researching into amphibian disease.