Amphibian Declines in Brazil: An Overview¹

Abstract

Population declines have previously been reported for at least 31 amphibian species in Brazil, in the families Leptodactylidae (19), Hylidae (7), Centrolenidae (2), Dendrobatidae (2), and Bufonidae (1). In five Brazilian museum collections, we found no entries of new records dating back to at least 15 yr ago for 13 of these species. We suggest that these taxa be studied in more detail to verify their status and to generate basic ecological data. Museum data indicate that the remaining species have been recently found in areas of reported crashes, or elsewhere. Several apparent declines in Brazil can be associated with habitat loss, interspecific interactions, natural fluctuations, or lack of intensive sampling. Personal observations and field data also indicate possible declines in the states of Paraná and Ceará as well as in highlands within the Cerrado biome, in the state of Minas Gerais. Records suggest declines of montane and stream‐associated populations of Brazilian amphibians in apparently pristine habitats. Field work is necessary to confirm these cases and to examine whether factors associated with similar extinctions in other parts of the globe—such as pathogens and climate change—are also related to local disappearances. To clarify pending questions and perhaps circumvent new cases, it is important to invest in short‐ and long‐term field studies, and in the maintenance and expansion of museum collections.

Taxocenose de anuros (Amphibia: Anura) em uma área de Floresta Ombrófila Densa no Sul do Brasil

“…Apesar dessa alta diversidade, não há muitos relatos sobre declínios das populações de anfíbios que ocorrem em território brasileiro (Eterovick et al 2005). Atualmente o Brasil ocupa o quarto lugar em número de espécies de anfíbios ameaçados, tendo uma porcentagem significativamente mais baixa de espécies ameaçadas quando comparada a média mundial (IUCN 2008).…”

“…Dos estudos referentes a declínios de anfíbios no Brasil (ver revisão em Eterovick et al 2005), a maioria refere-se à Mata Atlântica, um dos "hotspots" de biodiversidade (Myers et al 2000) que vêm sendo afetado pela perda de habitat, hoje com cerca de 12% de cobertura original remanescente (Ribeiro et al 2009).…”

Diversidade e uso de hábitat por anfíbios anuros em duas localidades de Mata Atlântica, no norte do estado da Bahia

“…Na Mata Atlântica, embora tenham sido registrados declínio e desaparecimento de espécies antes abundantes (Heyer et al 1988, Bertoluci & Heyer 1995, Eterovick et al 2005, é extremamente difícil julgar o grau de ameaça às espécies, principalmente frente ao desconhecimento sobre a distribuição, uso de hábitat e biologia das fases larval e adulta das espécies (Young et al 2001).…”

Helminth parasite communities of two Physalaemus cuvieri Fitzinger, 1826 (Anura: Leiuperidae) populations under different conditions of habitat integrity in the Atlantic Rain Forest of Brazil

“…However, due to the constant environmental degradation and forest fragmentation this high diversity is threatened (Young et al, 2001;Eterovick et al, 2005;Lips et al, 2005), which makes this biome one of the 10 hotspots of world biodiversity (Myers et al, 2000;Mittermeier et al, 2005). The Atlantic rain forest in São Paulo State has been substantially affected by forest fragmentation because prolonged intense exploitation of natural resources (Myers et al, 2000;Mittermeier et al, 2005).…”