Since 1994, the DAPTF Office at the OU has been receiving reports from around the world on the status of amphibian populations. Most of these have come from our Regional Working Groups, but many have come from individuals and from published sources. Some cover quite large areas, others report on very localised sites. We are putting these reports into a database, using software called IOS, with the objective of maximizing the ease and flexibility with which the data can be extracted and used by others. For example, interested researchers will be able to extract data from the CD, based on specific variables (such as: species, taxon, locality, habitat-type, cause of decline) or a combination of variables.
The data are coded according to two main criteria, site and species. Site information includes variables such as longitude, latitude, altitude, the dates of declines and the number of species affected, and vegetation characteristics. Species information includes taxonomic details, habitat variables for different life stages, and data on population declines. There are extensive comments and full references are included.
The information will incorporate text, photos of species and location maps. IOS allows easy access to information by enabling the user to navigate through geographical pathways to site information. Species information is linked automatically to sites or can be accessed via taxonomic pathways. A highly flexible search system enables users to search directly for sites, species, etc., or make searches for any combination of variables. An analysis tool allows simple compilation and transformation of data and output to statistical packages.
We hope to publish dad in Spanish, as well as English
Funding for dad has been provided by Conservation International
Please contact the dad team if you wish to contribute: