Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

The US Geological Survey is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research on genetics of a threatened amphibian endemic to the Pacific Northwest, the Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa). Information developed from this work will help to serve information needs identified in the US Fish and Wildlife Services Recovery Plan for the species. The study emphasizes use of modern genomic methods to delineate conservation units, quantify connectivity among populations, and quantify a suite of population genetic parameters. The Oregon spotted frog has declined across its range due to loss, degradation, and fragmentation of its wetland habitats caused by altered hydrology and invasive vegetation and predators (USFWS 2014; Duarte et al. 2020). New genomic approaches offer much more detailed analyses to inform recovery of imperiled species. Studies to date of genetics of Oregon spotted frogs have used allozymes or microsatellite markers (Green et al. 1996, Blouin et al. 2010; Robertson et al. 2018), approaches that predominated prior to the genomics revolution that has occurred in the last several years. Modern genomic analytical methods use high-throughput sequencing technologies that generate data for thousands to tens of thousands of loci (genes or other genomic regions), which provides much greater power to characterize genetic population structure, connectivity, and adaptive differences among populations (Zimmerman et al. 2020, Forester et al. 2022a).Information on genetic and population structure is needed to understand risks for declining species and to guide recovery. USGS is working with US Fish and Wildlife Service to understand current distribution, population demography, and responses of amphibians including Oregon spotted frog to restoration and management methods that can stabilize and recover the species.