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Amphibian Conservation in the New Century: Mitigation of Disaster Maureen A. Donnelly Florida International University

Amphibian Conservation in the New Century: … Conservation in the New Century: ... Craig Guyer, Luke J. Linhoff, Karen R. Lips, ... Amphibian Conservation in the New Century: Mitigation

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Amphibian Conservation in the New Century: Mitigation of Disaster

Maureen A. Donnelly

Florida International University

Acknowledgements

Collaboration: Kristen E. Bell, David M. Bickford, Michael Britton, Alessandro Catenazzi, Lilly Margaret Eluvathingal, Brian Folt, Craig Guyer, Luke J. Linhoff, Karen R. Lips, Vivian Maccachero, Joseph Mendelson, A. Justin Nowakowski, Kelsey Reider, Ralph A. Saporito, Jay M. Savage, Michelle Thompson, Rudolf von May, Graham G. Watkins, James I. Watling, Steven M. Whitfield

Organizations/Funding: ACA, American Museum of Natural History, EPA, Florida International University, Iwokrama International Rainforest Centre, Organization for Tropical Studies, National Geographic, NSF, Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, United States National Museum

I. Declines of Tropical Amphibians

II. Research Directions

Amphibian Conservation in the New Century: Mitigation of Disaster

Amphibian Conservation in the New Century: Mitigation of Disaster

I. Declines of Tropical Amphibians

Declines as part of the Biodiversity Crisis

Why the Tropics?

Applied research in response to the crisis

• 1/3 earth’s terrestrial surface in tropics

• variety of habitat types

• 50% biodiversity

• latitudinal gradient in diversity

• 50 million square km land in the tropics; 1/2 in Africa

• organisms do not follow latitudes very well; many factors influence distributions

• tropical forests, mangroves, and coral reefs are tropical

• 57% world’s rainforest in Neotropics

• 30% of the world’s rainforest in Brazil

• current rates of deforestation could result in loss of rainforest in 170 years

• 5% of world’s rainforest is protected

Incilius periglenes

Martha Crump described the crash of the Golden Toad at the First World Congress

Sixth Mass Extinction Event – Wake & Vredenburg 2008

Conservation Threats: Habitat Modification Habitat Fragmentation Overharvesting Invasive Species Pollution UV-B Radiation Pathogens Climatic Change Synergistic Interactions

Figure 3. Stuart et al. 2004 Science

http://www.iucnredlist.org/amphibians/major_threats

Figure 1. Stuart et al. 2004 Science

I. Declines of Tropical Amphibians

Declines as part of the Biodiversity Crisis

Why the Tropics?

Applied research in response to the crisis

Amphibian Conservation in the New Century: Mitigation of Disaster

Amphibian Diversity - IUCN 2008 Update

Brazil 798 Colombia 714 Ecuador 467 Peru 461 Papua New Guinea 376 Mexico 364 Indonesia 363 China 333 Venezuela 311 United States 272

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.iucnredlist.org/images/amphibians/maps/gaa_all_species_with_legend_540x286_v1227155283.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.iucnredlist.org/amphibians/geographic_patterns&usg=__H7zvVq1RPP8EAig2aNSq__oSW1E=&h=286&w=540&sz=36&hl=en&start=24&sig2=7vUm-aMwsloUZm290cY5xQ&tbnid=m1fJ91bROfA8gM:&tbnh=70&tbnw=132&ei=W3OxSfWfLYrKtQOxoI2IAg&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dglobal%2Bamphibian%2Bassessment%2Bmap%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D20

Amphibian Biodiversity: IUCN Redlist

Threatened Amphibians: IUCN Redlist

Threatened Amphibians: IUCN Redlist

Conservation Threats: Habitat Modification Habitat Fragmentation Overharvesting Invasive Species Pollution UV-B Radiation Pathogens Climatic Change Synergistic Interactions

Conservation Threats: Habitat Modification Habitat Fragmentation Overharvesting Invasive Species Pollution UV-B Radiation Pathogens Climatic Change Synergistic Interactions

Chytrid - An Emerging Pathogen

Discovered from Dendrobates tinctorius (= D. azureus)

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis

aquatic, flagellated basal lineage in Chytridiomycota unique thallus development zoospore ultrastructure unique Koch’s postulate fulfilled

Voyles et al. 2009 (Science 326:582-585)

Voyles et al. (2009): Green tree frog (Litoria caerulea)

electrolyte transport inhibited by more than 50% plasma sodium reduced by ~20% plasma potassium was reduced by ~50%

death from asystolic cardiac arrest

disruption of cutaneous function is mechanism

New Emerging Disease – Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans

Skin infections Mortality in 7 days 10-15 degrees C vs. 17-25 degrees C

I. Declines of Tropical Amphibians

II. Research Directions

Amphibian Conservation in the New Century: Mitigation of Disaster

Threatened Amphibians: IUCN Redlist

Conservation Threats: Habitat Modification Habitat Fragmentation Overharvesting Invasive Species Pollution UV-B Radiation Pathogens Climatic Change Synergistic Interactions

STUDY SITES

0

5

10

15

20

25

0.25 0.5 1 2 4 8 16 32 64 12

826

452

810

56

Fragment area (ha)

Freq

uenc

y (%

)

Nine forest fragments: 1 to 7 ha in size

La Selva, 1100 ha

La Selva Biological Station is a lowland reserve of old-growth forest We analyzed population trends sampled over 35 years with a single method We reviewed density of forest-floor frogs, using forest-floor lizards to help sort hypotheses Two datasets: old-growth forest, abandoned cacao plantations

Species Declining

Species Increasing

17 0

12

0

5 0

FROG AND LIZARD POPULATIONS SHOW SIMILAR DECLINES IN OLD-

GROWTH FOREST

Entire herpetofauna

Frogs

Lizards

0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0

0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0

0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Den

sity

100

m

- 2 0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0

0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0

0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Year

- 2

Entire herpetofauna

Frogs

Lizards

Species Declining

Species Increasing

17 9

0 4

12 8

0 1

5 1

0 3

TOTAL DENSITY INCREASED IN ABANDONED CACAO PLANTATIONS

0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0

0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0

0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0

0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0

0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Year

Den

sity

100

sq m

» Amphibian populations naturally variable

» Population variability tied to unpredictable aquatic habitats

» Synchronous declines unlikely

» Dramatic synchronous declines indicate external driver

NATURAL POPULATION VARIABILITY CANNOT

SUFFICIENTLY EXPLAIN DECLINES

Entire herpetofauna

Frogs

Lizards

0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0

0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0

0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0

0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0

0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Year

Den

sity

100

sq m

FRAGMENTATION CANNOT EXPLAIN DIFFERENCES IN POPULATION TRENDS

BETWEEN HABITAT TYPES

» La Selva essentially isolated from similar lowland forest

» Declines not symptomatic of usual fragmentation effects (no extinction of uncommon species)

» Cannot explain differences in trends between forest types

PESTICIDE DRIFT CANNOT EXPLAIN DIFFERENCES IN POPULATION TRENDS

BETWEEN HABITAT TYPES

» Banana, pineapple plantations directly upwind from La Selva

» Parsimonious explanation for declines in frogs, lizards, insectivorous birds

» Cannot explain differences in trends between forest types

CHYTRID CANNOT EXPLAIN HABITAT TYPES DIFFERENCES OR

LIZARD DECLINES

» Chytrid is present at La Selva, but no mass mortality as seen in other sites; seasonal infection

» No evidence that chytrid affects lizards or other reptiles

» Cannot explain cacao habitat trends

CLIMATE CHANGE MEDIATED THROUGH LITTER DYNAMICS CAN

EXPLAIN TRENDS IN BOTH HABITATS

» Depth of leaf litter is proximate determinant of abundance

» Litter decomposition related to climate

» Litterfall rates high in old cacao groves

» Lowlands are not safe from declines

» Gradual declines may be less conspicuous that mass die-offs

» Our understanding of faunal declines is still poor

» Habitat protection may not be sufficient to maintain biodiversity

FUTURE DIRECTIONS – COSTA

RICA

» Litter addition/removal experiment – Whitfield et al.

» Diseases & Pesticides in Costa Rican amphibians – Whtifield

» Fragmentation studies - Nowakowski

» Secondary Forest Herpetofaunas - Thompson

»  Testing Release Strategies for Reintroduction– Linhoff

FUTURE DIRECTIONS – COSTA

RICA

» Litter addition/removal experiment – Whitfield et al. (in press)

» Diseases & Pesticides in Costa Rican amphibians – Whtifield

» Fragmentation studies - Nowakowski

» Secondary Forest Herpetofaunas - Thompson

»  Testing Release Strategies for Reintroduction– Linhoff

FUTURE DIRECTIONS – COSTA

RICA

FUTURE DIRECTIONS – COSTA

RICA

FUTURE DIRECTIONS – COSTA

RICA

» Litter addition/removal experiment – Whitfield et al. (in press)

» Diseases in Costa Rican amphibians – Whtifield

» Fragmentation studies - Nowakowski

» Secondary Forest Herpetofaunas - Thompson

»  Testing Release Strategies for Reintroduction– Linhoff

FUTURE DIRECTIONS – COSTA

RICA

FUTURE DIRECTIONS – COSTA

RICA

» Litter addition/removal experiment – Whitfield et al. (in press)

» Diseases in Costa Rican amphibians – Whtifield

» Fragmentation studies - Nowakowski

» Secondary Forest Herpetofaunas - Thompson

»  Testing Release Strategies for Reintroduction– Linhoff

FUTURE DIRECTIONS – COSTA

RICA

FUTURE DIRECTIONS – COSTA

RICA

Amphibian Ark (AArk)

Execute ex situ conservation components of Amphibian Conservation Action Plan (ACAP)

World Association of Zoos & Aquariums (WAZA) IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialst Grp. (CBSG) IUCN/SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG)

FUTURE DIRECTIONS – COSTA

RICA

Baby Caecilians Feeding – 33 second youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K6szXrBHwM   New Breeding ball – first 30 seconds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtYjJwknBx4   Cute Screaming Frog – 30 second youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBkWhkAZ9ds   First four minutes of “The Last Dragons” http://vimeo.com/108512185