Amphibians Environmental Dependence and Their Use in Paleoecological Reconstructions

The reproductive and physiological amphibians’ needs are strongly influenced by rainfall and water availability. Temperature is another important factor in amphibian survival. Amphibians, as well as reptiles, are ectothermic. Amphibians are dependent on external heat sources for thermoregulation, processes of distribution underlying speciation, dispersal, and local extinction vary according to climate factors. However, the ecological traits in extant amphibians have been poorly used in palaeoecological studies. For example, the use of relationship between size and temperature has allowed us to reconstruct the paleoclimate in the Cretaceous or infer how climate changes directly affect the size of anurans. In the past, changes in the climate and geology affected the distribution of the amphibians, the presence of fossil frogs in paleontological and archaeological sites indicates changes in the range of this organism that are extinct in those sites. With salamanders’ studies about the effect of the precipitation on the distribution range of the past or paleoclimatic reconstruction using the phylogeny have been carried out. In Mexico, only exist one quantitative study to paleoenvironmental reconstruction using mainly axolotls. Therefore, carrying out paleontological, archaeological, and osteological studies with these organisms is necessary.