TitleAbstractIntroductionThe rapid human population growth in the past yeas has dramatically influencedthe planet’s landscape . Much of the natural areas have been converted to many humanland-use practices, such as agricultural, industrial, and urban areas . If some undevelopedland has not been transformed into various land uses, often has been divided intofragments which result, for example, in the reduction of the habitat area for many species. This change in the world’s surface has caused drastic changes in biodiversity. In the US,urbanization is one of th leading causes of land use conversion and it has been cited asone of the primary causes as a major cause of species endangerment . Since 1998 habitatdestruction and degradation has been known as the most pervasive threat to biodiversityto all species groups . The fragmentation and loss of natural habitat areas have beenrecognized as key causes of declining biological diversity worldwide . For examplediscovered that 5-20% of the extinctions across all species have been human driven. Thechange in biodiversity richness and structure has altered ecosystem services, in turn,threatening and endangering all groups of species and their habitat . Future globalscenarios of biodiversity have been developed using several determinants of whichchanges in land use resulted in the one that will have the largest effect on terrestrialecosystems .Wetlands are among the most important ecosystems on Earth, especially for providing necessary habitat for wildlife . Unfortunately, humans have contributed to thedeterioration of wetlands through land development, agriculture, water pollution, and

introduction of invasive species making them one of the most impacted ecosystems byurbanization. In the United States, urban and rural development accounted for anestimated 61% of the net freshwater wetlands lost between 1998 and 2004 and in allsurveyed watersheds urbanization may be responsible for up to 58% of total wetland lossin the United States . Besides driving the disappearance of wetlands, urbanization canalso influence the surrounding habitat of the wetlands leading to alterations in thehydrology and water quality . Seasonally-flooded wetlands (SFW) are an example of thewetlands currently disappearing even being the most numerous type of wetlands in manynatural landscapes . These negative effects and influences are among the reasons to for the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment to conclude that the decline of wetlands is one of the reasons reported to have worsen the condition of biodiversity of inland waters .Of all the taxa, amphibians are one of the taxonomic groups that have beenexperiencing recent and worldwide population declines and extinctions . It was reportedthat amphibians are more threatened and are declining more rapidly that either birds or mammals with 43%of the populations experiencing declines and more than 32%threatened . These declines have been observed in many parts of the world, primarily innatural and protected landscapes, after invasions of exotics species, and after agriculturalconversion of habitats . Among many factors, scientists have identified that the major threat to amphibian population is the loss and the fragmentation of their habitat .Even with many of the amphibian populations undergoing declines andextinctions, they are one of he groups the were understudied with respect to their threatstatus . Amphibians were among the group of the animals most poorly studied accountingfor only 4% of the effects of habitat fragmentation . Though urban systems driving many

environmental changes on amphibian populations, fewer than 6% of the 217 studies published in a conservation journal described work conducted in urban areas or withsome sort of substantial human development .Amphibians are common organisms that utilize wetlands extensively. Their diphase lifecycle, unique physiological characteristics, and their small ranges allowscientists to use them as bioindicators of environmental stressors on local conditions .Specifically, pond-breeding amphibians have adapted to live in habitats that provide for them breeding, dispersal, foraging, and reproducing areas. Special attention has to bedrawn to these amphibians because they can serve as indicators of environmental healthin both terrestrial and aquatic areas and have an important role in aquatic and terrestrialecosystem dynamics .Small SFW often have higher species diversity for many amphibians, than either larger, ephemeral, or permanent ponds and serve as important breeding sites for amphibians producing more metamorphs . Also, because of their small size andseasonality, SFW tend to lack of fish and this can result in higher amphibian speciesrichness . Unfortunately, more than 44% of the all of the freshwater wetland losses werewetlands less than 0.4 ha , which the majority may have been SFW. The alarming rate atwhich pond-breeding amphibians are losing their breeding habitat is bound to have direconsequences on the populations.In order to develop better conservation plans we need to start to understand theimportant factors that will lead proper preservation of the habitat required by thesesensitive species. It is important to understand the effects of land use change that convert