While working as a volunteer at the British Museum, he was advised to go to Australia and Papua New Guinea if he wanted to do any ground-breaking research on amphibians.
He is one of many who have worked on Australia's Cane toad (previously Bufo marinus, now Rhinella marina) pest problem.
He was prominent in research into the world-wide phenomenon of the disappearance of frogs, even entire species, notably in Australia the two species of gastric-brooding frog (Rheobatrachus vitellinus and Rheobatrachus silus), which were declared extinct shortly after their discovery).
He was very public in the promotion of frogs as pets, as sources of potentially useful substances, and as an indicator of environmental quality, arguing that a species useful to humans will necessarily be protected.
Mike Tyler was the author or co-author of a large number of books and over 300 scientific papers, mostly on amphibians: