University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Theses and Dissertations 1-2020 The Conservation and Population Ecology of the Imperiled Crawfish rF og (Lithobates areolatus) in Human-altered Landscapes Chelsea Shannon Kross University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd Part of the Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Population Biology Commons, and the Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons Citation Kross, C. S. (2020). The Conservation and Population Ecology of the Imperiled Crawfish rF og (Lithobates areolatus) in Human-altered Landscapes. Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/3791 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Conservation and Population Ecology of the Imperiled Crawfish Frog (Lithobates areolatus) in Human-altered Landscapes A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Biology by Chelsea Shannon Kross University of South Carolina Upstate Bachelor of Science in Biology, 2011 Eastern Kentucky University Master of Science in Biology, 2014 July 2020 University of Arkansas This dissertation is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council. John D. Willson Ph.D. Dissertation Director Steven J. Beaupre Ph.D. Jeffrey T. Briggler, Ph.D. Committee Member Committee Member Daniel D. Magoulick Ph.D. Committee Member Abstract The Crawfish frog (Lithobates areolatus) is an imperiled amphibian currently experiencing severe declines across its range. As a species with unique habitat requirements that is threatened by habitat loss, understanding their status across the landscape and how they respond to environmental stressors is key to developing effective conservation strategies that maintain and expand viable populations.