Data from: Ecological correlates of extinction risk in Chinese amphibians

Aim: China is one of the countries with the richest amphibian biodiversity
in the world. Among the 408 Chinese amphibians, 174 species are considered
threatened according to the China Biodiversity Red List in 2015. However,
to date, which species traits or extrinsic factors are correlated with
extinction risk in Chinese amphibians is rarely examined in previous
studies. The aims of this study were thus to identify the patterns and
correlates of extinction risk in Chinese amphibians and to determine
whether patterns and processes were similar between species with either
small or large geographic distributions. Location: China. Methods: We
obtained twelve species traits and four extrinsic factors that have been
commonly linked to the extinction risk of amphibians. After phylogenetic
correction, these factors were tested separately and in combination to
identify their correlations with extinction risk in all Chinese
amphibians, and in small-ranged and large-ranged species. Results:
Geographic range size and elevational range were the most important
predictors of extinction risk in all Chinese amphibians. Although
extinction risk in small-ranged amphibians was predominantly determined by
small elevational range, in large-ranged amphibians it was driven by
geographic and elevational range sizes, body size, human exploitation
index and adult microhabitat. Small-ranged amphibians had a higher
percentage of threatened species than large-ranged species. However, the
body size distributions were not statistically different between these two
amphibian subgroups. Main conclusions: Our findings suggest that
conservation priority should be given to species with small geographic and
elevational ranges. Small-ranged and large-ranged amphibians should be
conserved with different strategies because the factors influencing
extinction risk differ between these two groups. In specific, the
reduction of habitat loss should be a primary focus of management efforts
for small-ranged species. Conservation efforts should also focus on
preventing habitat loss and human overexploitation for the effective
conservation of large-ranged amphibians.