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An interpretive sign was installed on August 1st, 2017 near the headquarters and visitor information office at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge (BANWR, Sasabe, Arizona). The sign provides information on the federally-threatened Chiricahua Leopard Frog (Lithobates chiricahuensis) and is located next to an example of typical habitat (a cienaga). In addition to the biology and behavior of this desert frog, the sign gives a friendly reminder to brake for amphibians on Refuge roads, especially during the summer monsoon season when amphibians are more likely to be moving between habitats; in the desert, as for many animals, the cienagas and cattle tanks retain water and are key refuges during drought.

This interpretive sign, the first highlighting an amphibian on BANWR, was originally designed to educate visitors about the Chiricahua Leopard Frog, but the sign has become a template and an inspiration for further educational efforts. Additional signs are in the works at BANWR to provide interpretive information along a planned nature walk near Refuge headquarters and at the flight pen for the federally endangered Masked Bobwhite Quail. Based on the design of the Chiricahua Leopard Frog sign, interpretive information is being created to highlight all of the diverse flora and fauna at BANWR and give the visitor a better idea of the complex and interconnected lives of the organisms they might encounter as they enjoy the scenery and arid landscape of the Refuge.

The Chiricahua Leopard Frog interpretive sign was a concept initiated during a stakeholder meeting in February 2017, at BANWR, where decision science methods were applied to discuss refuge priorities (e.g., Chiricahua Leopard Frog conservation, general refuge management). Stakeholders included personnel from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona Game and Fish Department, U.S. Geological Survey, and the University of Georgia. The sign was designed through collaborative effort among those entities and funded via Jones-Lovich grant in Southwestern Herpetology from the Herpetologists' League. Work on declining amphibians at BANWR and the Borderlands was initiated by Cecil Schwalbe (USGS, ARMI-retired) and has been continued by Brent Sigafus, Blake Hossack and Erin Muths (Rocky Mountain and Southwest ARMI).

A new graduate student has started work on boreal toads this summer in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). John Crockett completed his undergraduate degree at Colby College and successfully garnered a funded graduate position in Larissa Bailey's lab at Colorado State University (CSU). He will be working with ARMI scientist Erin Muths and Larissa Bailey to examine factors that influence boreal toad survival from egg to one year old toads. During the past 15 years, breeding by boreal toads has been documented at only six sites within RMNP and in 2016 breeding occurred in only four of these remaining sites. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a fungal pathogen which causes a fatal skin disease in amphibians, has been credited as the cause of the recent and rapid declines of boreal toads in RMNP and has been identified at three of these sites. Quantifying breeding success and understanding factors that impact survival in early life stages of toads are poorly known aspects of their ecology. One of these factors is the potential negative interaction between trout and aquatic stages of toads (egg and tadpoles). Laboratory evidence suggests that trout will "taste" tadpoles, while not lethal, it does effect survival. A behavioral component to this project will examine interactions between trout and aquatic stages in the field. In addition to newly collected data on behavior, egg deposition, hatching success, and metamorph survival, this jointly-funded project will capitalize on long-term existing data from Muths' lab and RMNP. We anticipate that this information will help us understand factors that impact early life stages of toads and identify situations where we may be able to intervene and improve survival rates, thus informing management strategies and contributing to conservation of the toad.

The 2016 ARMI meeting was held at the National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) in Madison, Wisconsin. ARMI scientists met with disease researchers from NWHC to develop a new disease strategy designed to meet the need for increased information on how aspects of the environment can be managed to understand and reduce the effect of disease on amphibian populations. Disease has been an integral part of ARMI efforts since the inception of this program when the amphibian chytrid fungus and its devastating effects on amphibians was first identified. Now, the complex topic of disease has again come to the forefront of public and scientific consciousness with the recent emergence of a number of infectious diseases such as white-nosed syndrome in bats and the salamander chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans) in amphibians. Additional topics at the meeting focused on research results, including projects as diverse as decision science, amphibian presence relative to gas and oil development, demographic estimates for a number of focal populations, international collaborations, and modelling and methods development. Synergies resulting from this cross discipline (e.g., biology, contaminants, water, disease) effort are critical to develop the knowledge base, direction and tools to effectively combat the global issue of amphibian decline.

ARMI scientists Blake Hossack (NOROCK), Brent Sigafus (SBSC) and Erin Muths (FORT), and ARMI post doc Thierry Chambert traveled to Sonora, Mexico, to survey for Sonoran Tiger Salamanders in May. Reports existed of the presence of this salamander in Sonora, but the spatial extent of its range is unknown. The Sonoran Tiger Salamander is federally endangered in the US and is found only in the San Rafael Valley in southern Arizona. The identification of additional populations in nearby Sonora has implications for multiple conservation concerns including population biology, genetics, and disease. Data collected about its presence and abundance across the border will contribute to the identification of management objectives and subsequent implementation of conservation actions. The surveys were a collaborative effort with logistical support from Naturalia (http://www.naturalia.org.mx/) that included the expertise of Naturalia employees Daniel Toyos and Ramon Babuca. The trip also benefitted from assistance from Guillermo Molina (Instituto Tecnológico Superior De Cananea), Julio Lemos Espinal (UNAM), and students David Hurtado and Aline Estrella. Jim Rorabaugh contributed much to the trip by sharing knowledge of the Sonoran system gained from his previous expeditions focused on salamanders in Mexico. The effort was based at Rancho Los Fresnos, a Naturalia property located north of the town of Cananea and adjacent to the US–Mexico border. The group sampled a variety of sites on Rancho Los Fresnos, as well as surrounding ranches and locations to the south of Cananea. Tiger salamanders reside primarily in man-made or modified earthen stock tanks. These habitats were seined for salamanders and water samples were collected to test for environmental DNA (eDNA) from salamanders, invasive American bullfrogs, federally-threatened (USA) Chiricahua leopard frogs, and pathogens that cause amphibian diseases. Buccal swabs were collected from captured salamanders for genetic analyses (there is uncertainty in determining the difference among closely related salamanders in the field); and skin swabs were collected to test for disease (both Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans and B. dendrobatidis). This ongoing project has already produced one publication (Hossack et al. 2016. Notes on the Distribution of Tiger Salamanders (Presumed Ambystoma mavortium stebbinsi) in Sonora, Mexico. Herpetological Review 47(2): 177-180), and another is in preparation (Hossack et al. Informing recovery of an imperiled, endemic salamander: coupled dynamics and test of drought-mediated coexistence with invasive predators).