The combined threats of disease, habitat loss, and climate change are the major drivers of amphibian and reptile decline, threatening entire clades with extinction. The vast majority of amphibian and reptile diversity is harbored in tropical regions, making it imperative that we understand and respond to the scale of biodiversity loss in the tropics. Because this year’s ESA meeting finds us at the fringes of the New World tropics, it is appropriate to take this opportunity to consider some new frontiers in tropical amphibian and reptile conservation ecology. Although the chytrid fungus has devastated amphibian communities around the world, recent expeditions have identified resistant populations of species heretofore presumed to be extinct. New discoveries also suggest the possibility that probiotics isolated from resistant populations could be used to limit the future threat of the chytrid fungus. Although habitat loss remains the greatest threat to amphibian and reptile species, new models are forcing researchers to re-think the conceptual framework of patch dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems. Against the backdrop of these new scientific developments, approaches to conservation are evolving. This session aims to bring together researchers and conservation practitioners working in tropical countries around the world to evaluate the contemporary conservation landscape for amphibians and reptiles, and discuss the ongoing response to biodiversity loss.