Decline of a Tropical Montane Amphibian Fauna

Lips, Karen R.

doi:10.1046/j.1523-1739.1998.96359.x

Cited by 294 publications

(265 citation statements)

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“…Eighteen named species were classified as data deficient (DD) because they were found in the study area but not on the standardized transects used to quantify abundance (i.e., pond species and rare species). DD species were further classified as either DD-extirpated (nine named species) if they were not seen on postdecline transects and have largely disappeared from other declined sites, or as DD-least concern (nine named species and one candidate species) if they persisted (35,38,39). We conservatively assigned category of decline to candidate species (see below) by assuming that, if the morphologically most similar named species persisted, the candidate species persisted as well, and we assigned them the same category (Fig.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Central America, the decimation of highland amphibian populations was first noted in Monteverde, Costa Rica (35,36), in the late 1980s, and since then the spread of B. dendrobatidis has been moving in an epidemic wave from the northwest toward the southeast through the cordillera of Isthmian Central America (9,(37)(38)(39)(40). Anticipating the arrival of B. dendrobatidis, an intensive field survey and monitoring program was established in 1998 in the G. D. Omar Torrijos H. National Park (latitude 08.667, longitude −080.592) at 800 m elevation, near El Copé, Panama (9).…”

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Epidemic disease decimates amphibian abundance, species diversity, and evolutionary history in the highlands of central Panama

Crawford

Lips²,

Bermingham³

2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Amphibian populations around the world are experiencing unprecedented declines attributed to a chytrid fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Despite the severity of the crisis, quantitative analyses of the effects of the epidemic on amphibian abundance and diversity have been unavailable as a result of the lack of equivalent data collected before and following disease outbreak. We present a community-level assessment combining long-term field surveys and DNA barcode data describing changes in abundance and evolutionary diversity within the amphibian community of El Copé, Panama, following a disease epidemic and mass-mortality event. The epidemic reduced taxonomic, lineage, and phylogenetic diversity similarly. We discovered that 30 species were lost, including five undescribed species, representing 41% of total amphibian lineage diversity in El Copé. These extirpations represented 33% of the evolutionary history of amphibians within the community, and variation in the degree of population loss and decline among species was random with respect to the community phylogeny. Our approach provides a fast, economical, and informative analysis of loss in a community whether measured by species or phylogenetic diversity.amphibian decline | biodiversity | chytridiomycosis | DNA barcoding | phylogenetic diversity

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Epidemic disease decimates amphibian abundance, species diversity, and evolutionary history in the highlands of central Panama

Crawford

Lips²,

Bermingham³

2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

316

310

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“…Efforts to understand the causes of this alarming decline, known as the global amphibian crisis, have focused primarily on frogs; comparatively little attention has been paid to salamanders (2)(3)(4)(5). Reasons for this bias include the fact that most salamanders are secretive in nature, so population trends may not be apparent as in frogs.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…At well-studied sites in Central America where salamanders are present, they are often relatively uncommon compared with frogs (6). Nonetheless, given the precipitous declines and recently documented extinctions (2,6,7) in an array of tropical frog species, tropical salamanders demand attention as well.…”

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confidence: 99%

Dramatic declines in neotropical salamander populations are an important part of the global amphibian crisis

Rovito

Parra‐Olea²,

Vásquez-Almazán³

et al. 2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

124

101

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We document major declines of many species of salamanders at several sites in Central America and Mexico, with emphasis on the San Marcos region of Guatemala, one of the best studied and most diverse salamander communities in the Neotropics. Profound declines of several formerly abundant species, including 2 apparent extinctions, are revealed. Terrestrial microhabitat specialists at mid- to high elevations have declined more than microhabitat generalists. These terrestrial microhabitat specialists have largely disappeared from multiple sites in western Guatemala, including in well-protected areas, suggesting that the phenomenon cannot be explained solely by localized habitat destruction. Major declines in southern Mexican plethodontid salamanders occurred in the late 1970s to early 1980s, concurrent with or preceding many reported frog declines. The species in decline comprise several major evolutionary lineages of tropical salamanders, underscoring that significant portions of the phylogenetic diversity of Neotropical salamanders are at risk. Our results highlight the urgent need to document and understand Neotropical salamander declines as part of the larger effort to conserve global amphibian diversity.

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“…Recent decades have been marked by debates on population decline and extinction of frog species around the world. For most species the obvious causes of the decline/extinctions are human related activities, however, the disappearance of species from preserved areas has also been reported (BLAUSTEIN & WAKE, 1990, 1995PHILLIPS, 1990;LIPS, 1998;GARDNER, 2001;ETEROVICK et al, 2005). Today, the major problem for correctly evaluating the extent of the decline of frog populations is the lack of basic information, especially that necessary to separate natural fluctuations from actual declines (PECHMANN et al, 1991;HEYER et al, 1994;SARKAR, 1996;ALFORD & RICHARDS, 1999;MARSH, 2001).…”

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confidence: 99%

Species richness, relative abundance, and habitat of reproduction of terrestrial frogs in the Triângulo Mineiro region, Cerrado biome, southeastern Brazil

Giaretta

Menin

Facure

et al. 2008

Iheringia, Sér. Zool.

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ABSTRACT. Based on field observations and pitfall sampling, we determined the species richness, relative abundance, and reproductive habitat of terrestrial frogs in three municipalities in the Triângulo Mineiro region, south Cerrado biome, in southeastern Brazil. We found thirty-two species of terrestrial frogs, belonging to the families Brachycephalidae, Bufonidae, Cycloramphidae, Dendrobatidae, Leiuperidae, Leptodactylidae and Microhylidae. Most of the species were found in open areas and reproduced in human-generated environments, such as artificial lakes (10 species) and ponds (14 species). Dominance was high, with Physalaemus cuvieri Fitzinger, 1826 (Leiuperidae) representing 48% of sampled frogs. A larger number of individuals was captured in the wet season, when most of the species were reproducing. Compared to other areas of Cerrado biome, the Triângulo Mineiro sites presented a larger number of species, which may be attributed to the larger sampled area and greater sampling effort, lower altitude and presence of human generated habitats. The richness of terrestrial frogs was also larger than that in some forested localities in southeastern Brazil, indicating that the number of species cannot be explained only by precipitation and type of vegetation cover. The greater abundance of individuals during the wet season may be related to a greater movement of adults to breeding sites and to juvenile recruitment/dispersion. The heterogeneity of environments in the Cerrado biome, including its several isolated highlands, contributes to its high (local and regional) diversity of frogs. KEYWORDS.Reproductive habitat, relative abundance, richness, Triângulo Mineiro, southeastern Brazil. RESUMO. Riqueza, abundância relativa e hábitat de reprodução de espécies de anuros terrestres na região do TriânguloMineiro, bioma Cerrado, sudeste do Brasil. Neste estudo foram determinados a riqueza, abundância relativa e hábitat de reprodução de anuros terrestres em três municípios do Triângulo Mineiro, sul do Bioma Cerrado, sudeste do Brasil, baseados em observações de campo e armadilhas de interceptação e queda. Foram encontradas 32 espécies pertencentes às famílias Brachycephalidae, Bufonidae, Cycloramphidae, Dendrobatidae, Leiuperidae, Leptodactylidae e Microhylidae. Muitas dessas espécies foram encontradas em áreas abertas e se reproduziram em ambientes artificiais gerados por ação antrópica, tais como lagos (10 espécies) e poças (14 espécies). Physalaemus cuvieri Fitzinger, 1826 (Leiuperidae) foi a espécie dominante, representando 48% do total amostrado. Um grande número de indivíduos de diferentes espécies foi capturado na estação chuvosa, quando muitas das espécies estavam reproduzindo. As áreas amostradas na região do Triângulo Mineiro apresentaram um maior número de espécies quando comparadas com outras áreas do bioma Cerrado, o que pode ser atribuído à maior área amostrada, ao maior esforço de coleta, baixa altitude e presença de hábitats gerados por ação antrópica. A riqueza de anuros terrestres também foi maior do qu...

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Decline of a Tropical Montane Amphibian Fauna

Abstract: On the basis of surveys conducted between 1991 and 1996, I report a decline of the amphibian fauna at Las Tablas, Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica. I propose

Cited by 294 publications

References 30 publications

Epidemic disease decimates amphibian abundance, species diversity, and evolutionary history in the highlands of central Panama

Epidemic disease decimates amphibian abundance, species diversity, and evolutionary history in the highlands of central Panama

Dramatic declines in neotropical salamander populations are an important part of the global amphibian crisis

Species richness, relative abundance, and habitat of reproduction of terrestrial frogs in the Triângulo Mineiro region, Cerrado biome, southeastern Brazil

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