Amphibian Conservation Needs Assessments

Assessment Results

Mantella crocea

Eastern Mantella, Yellow Mantella

Order: Anura Family: Mantellidae

Synonym(s):

Assessed for: Madagascar on: 16 Jul 2019 by: Devin Edmonds

IUCN Global Red List: Vulnerable (VU)

National Red List: (not assessed)

Distribution: Madagascar

Evolutionary Distinctiveness score: 11.3314791

AmphibiaWeb species account

IUCN Red List assessment

Recommended Conservation Actions:

In Situ Conservation

, In Situ Research

, Applied Ex Situ Research

, Mass Production in Captivity

, Conservation Education

Additional Comments:

Question #	Short Name	Question Text	Response	Comments
1	Extinction risk	Current IUCN Red List category. [Data obtained from the IUCN Red List.]	Vulnerable (VU)
2	Possibly extinct	Is there a strong possibility that this species might be extinct in the wild?	No / unlikely
3	Phylogenetic significance	The taxon’s Evolutionary Distinctiveness (ED) score, as generated by the ZSL EDGE program. (These data are not editable by Assessors).	ED value < 20
4	Protected habitat	Is a population of at least 50% of the individuals of the taxon included within a well-managed or reliably protected area or areas?	No / unlikely	Populations exist in Torotorofotsy Ramsar site, Ambohitantely Special Reserve, and Zahamena National Park, but known localities occur in the CAZ (Zahamena-Ankeniheny Corridor) which is not reliably protected and many sections open for regulated use.
5	Habitat for reintroduction, conservation translocation or supplementation	Does enough well-managed and reliably protected habitat exist, either within or outside of currently protected areas that is suitable for conservation translocation, including population restoration or conservation introduction?	Yes / probably	CAZ, Torotorofotsy, Zahamena, etc. If similar to M. aurantiaca, likely habitat would need to be restored/created within native range.
6	Previous reintroductions	Have reintroduction or translocation attempts been made in the past for this species?	Yes, but outcome is unknown	Translocations from breeding ponds on the footprint of the Ambatovy nickel and cobalt mine to created sites in the Conservation Zone around the mine have taken place since 2013 but it is unknown if they are successful or not. Continued long-term monitoring and additional translocations will take place over coming years.
7	In situ conservation activities	Are any in situ conservation actions currently in place for this species? (Only required if a Red List Assessment has not been completed, or if new actions have been implemented since the last Red List Assessment. (Information from the Conservation Actions section of the Red List assessment should be reviewed and considered when answering this question.).	Yes / probably	Translocations were carried out for populations impacted by Ambatovy mine
8	In situ conservation activities	Are additional in situ conservation actions required to help conserve this species in the wild (e.g. habitat restoration and/or protection, control of invasive species, national legislation etc.)?	Yes / probably	Habitat protection and improved management of populations within protected areas
9	In situ research	Is additional in situ research required to better understand the species, e.g. distribution, population trends, natural history etc.?	Yes	Population trends, taxonomic status in relation to M. milotympanum and the larger green M. crocea forms, impacts of trade
10	Threat mitigation	Are the threats facing the taxon, including any new and emerging threats not considered in the IUCN Red List, potentially reversible?	Threats are likely to be reversible in time frame to prevent further decline / extinction	Habitat destruction is the main threat to the species and potentially could be reversed in time to prevent extinction, however, local populations likely may go extinct in meantime while threats are being addressed. Occurs within several protected areas, though the species survival depends on their management.
11	Over-collection from the wild	Is the taxon suffering from collection within its natural range, either for food, for the pet trade or for any other reason, which threatens the species’ continued persistence in the wild?	Yes / probably	CITES II. Has not been collected since 2008 since CITES quota was set to 0, but historically collected by the thousands for the international pet trade and likely in unsustainable numbers depending on targeted populations, though other surveys indicate that numbers possibly were sustainable. See Rabemananjara, F., et al. 2008. Malagasy poison frogs in the pet trade: a survey of levels of exploitation of species in the genus Mantella. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 5(1): 3-16
12	Population recovery	Is the known population of this species in the wild large enough to recover naturally, without ex situ intervention if threats are mitigated?	Yes / probably
13	Action plans	Does an Action Plan for the species already exist, or is one currently being developed?	No
14	Biological distinctiveness	Does the taxon exhibit a distinctive reproductive mode, behaviour, aspect of morphology or physiology, within the Order to which it belongs (e.g. Anura, Passeriformes etc.)?	No aspect of biology known to be exceptional	Not biologically distinct.
15	Cultural/socio-economic importance	Does the taxon have a special human cultural value (e.g. as a national or regional symbol, in a historic context, featuring in traditional stories) or economic value (e.g. food, traditional medicine, tourism) within its natural range or in a wider global context?	Yes	Socio-economic importance - pet trade.
16	Scientific importance	Is the species vital to current or planned research other than species-specific ecology/biology/conservation within the Order to which it belongs (e.g. Anura, Passeriformes etc.) e.g. human medicine, climate change, environmental pollutants and conservation science?	No research dependent on this species	Not known to be scientifically important.
17	Ex situ research	Does conserving this species (or closely related species) in situ depend upon research that can be most easily carried out ex situ?	Yes	Population ecology and dynamics for sustainable trade; habitat use and preference for translocations.
18	Ex situ conservation activities	Is any ex situ research or other ex situ conservation action currently in place for this species? (Information from the Conservation Actions section of the Red List assessment should be reviewed and considered when answering this question.)	No / unlikely
19	Husbandry analog required	If an ex situ rescue program is recommended for this species, would an analog species be required to develop husbandry protocols first?	No / unlikely
20	Husbandry analog	Do the biological and ecological attributes of this species make it suitable for developing husbandry regimes for more threatened related species? i.e. could this species be used in captivity to help to develop husbandry and breeding protocols which could be used for a similar, but more endangered species at a later stage?	No	Husbandry of closely related species already understood.
21	Captive breeding	Has this species been successfully bred and/or maintained in captivity?	Yes, bred to F2	Successfully bred to F2 generation outside of range country by private breeders and within cosmopolitan zoo collections. Possibly bred in Madagascar by animal exporters.
22	Conservation education/ecotourism potential	Is the species especially diurnal, active or colourful, or is there an interesting or unusual aspect of its ecology that make it particularly suitable to be an educational ambassador for conservation of the species in the range country, either in zoos or aquariums or within ecotourism activities?	Yes	Diurnal, colorful, easily observed and useful for raising awareness of other threatened species in the genus other than M. aurantiaca.
23	Mandate	Is there an existing conservation mandate recommending the ex situ conservation of this taxon?	No
24	Range State approval	If an ex situ initiative was proposed for this species, would it be supported (and approved) by the range State (either within the range State or out-of-country ex situ)?	Yes / probably	The Sahonagasy Action Plan is ratified by the Malagasy government and states support for ex situ initiatives for all amphibian species in Madagascar.
25	Founder specimens	Are sufficient animals of the taxon available or potentially available (from wild or captive sources) to initiate an ex situ program, if one was recommended?	Yes / probably
26	Taxonomic status	Has a complete taxonomic analysis of the species in the wild been carried out, to fully understand the functional unit you wish to conserve (i.e. have species limits been determined)?	Yes	Yes, but relationship to M. milotympanum at certain intermediate populations unclear.

Citation: Devin Edmonds. 2019. Conservation Needs Assessment for Mantella crocea, Madagascar.
https://www.conservationneeds.org/assessment/1577 Accessed 19 May 2024