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Extreme weather events are predicted to increase as a result of climate change, yet amphibian responses to extreme disturbance events remain understudied, especially in the Neotropics. Recently, an unprecedented windstorm within a protected Costa Rican rainforest opened large light gaps in sites where we have studied behavioral responses of diurnal strawberry poison frogs (Oophaga pumilio) to ultraviolet radiation for nearly two decades. Previous studies demonstrate that O. pumilio selects and defends perches where ultraviolet radiation (UV-B) is relatively low, likely because of the lethal and sublethal effects of UV-B. In this natural experiment, we quantified disturbance to O. pumilio habitat, surveyed for the presence of O. pumilio in both high-disturbance and low-disturbance areas of the forest, and assessed UV-B levels and perch selection behavior in both disturbance levels. Fewer frogs were detected in high-disturbance habitat than in low-disturbance habitat. In general, frogs were found vocalizing at perches in both disturbance levels, and in both cases, in significantly lower UV-B levels relative to ambient adjacent surroundings. However, frogs at perches in high-disturbance areas were exposed to UV-B levels nearly 10 times greater than males at perches in low-disturbance areas. Thus, behavioral avoidance of UV-B may not reduce the risks associated with elevated exposure under these novel conditions, and similarly, if future climate and human-driven land-use change lead to sustained analogous environments.

1. The Santa Ana River in the Los Angeles region of California demonstrates common habitat degradation symptoms that are characteristic of the urban stream syndrome. These impacts have altered the Santa Ana River community structure, with few species as impacted as the native Santa Ana sucker (sucker; Pantosteus santaanae). 2. Consequently, a recovery plan developed for sucker identified the need for a population viability analysis (PVA) to assess sucker extirpation risk. However, PVAs can be data‐intensive and are subject to several sources of bias when standardized protocols are absent. 3. More than 20 years of sucker and arroyo chub (chub; Gila orcuttii) surveys using different methods were compiled to build an integrated hierarchical multi‐population PVA to estimate trends in abundance and extirpation probability of these native fishes from the Santa Ana River. 4. PVA modelling indicated similar patterns in sucker and chub abundance along the Santa Ana River, with the highest abundance of both species in the upper regions of the river during the early 2000s and downstream in recent years (2018–2022). Extirpation risk was estimated to be greatest near wastewater treatment facilities, where native fish abundance estimates have been zero since 2018. Extirpation risk was lower downstream of the wastewater treatment facilities for both species, although extinction risk was higher for sucker than chub throughout the river. 5. As the model evolves and more data are collected, the PVA could be used to assess the effects of various management actions, such as non‐native predator removals and native fish re‐introductions, on sucker and chub persistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]