Assessment Results
Crossodactylodes izecksohni
Izecksohn's Bromeliad Frog
Order:
Anura
Family:
Leptodactylidae
Synonym(s):
Assessed for:
Brazil
on:
21 Aug 2020
by:
AArk/ASG Brazil Assessment Workshop
Authors:
A.M.P. T. Carvalho-e-Silva, I.M. Barata, J.L. Gasparini, R.B. Ferreira and S.P. Carvalho-e-Silva
IUCN Global Red List:
Near Threatened (NT)
National Red List:
(not assessed)
Distribution:
Brazil
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
18.71837405
Recommended Conservation Actions:
Additional Comments:
| Question # | Short Name | Question Text | Response | Comments |
| 1 | Extinction risk | Current IUCN Red List category. [Data obtained from the IUCN Red List.] | Near Threatened (NT) | |
| 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 | This species occurs in the municipality of Santa Teresa -ES and about 30% of the population's area of occurrence is within a protected area, distributed between the Reserva Biológica Augusto Ruschi (low density) and the Estação Biológica Santa Lucia (low density; not part of the national system of protected areas (SNUC) and it is managed by three institutions: Instituto Nacional da Mata Atlântica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and Sociedade de Amigos do Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro). |
| 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 | Reserva Biológica Augusto Ruschi |
| 6 | Previous reintroductions | Have reintroduction or translocation attempts been made in the past for this species? | No | |
| 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 | Monitoring of the population of C. izecksohni in the surroundings of REBio Augusto Ruschi has been carried out since 2012. Environmental education program with local communities, including this species, has been carried out (Projeto Bromelígenous). The REBio Management Plan was updated in 2019 and the species was included. |
| 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 | Surveillance efforts around REBio to prevent the collection of bromeliads. Decrease deforestation. |
| 9 | In situ research | Is additional in situ research required to better understand the species, e.g. distribution, population trends, natural history etc.? | Yes | Continue population monitoring and ecophysiological studies. |
| 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 | The main threats for this species are: deforestation for coffee and eucalyptus plantations (irreversible) and collection of bromeliads for use as an ornamental plants, including those at risk of extinction (reversible). The rise in temperature may drastically affect this mountain top species. |
| 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? | Unknown | The collection of bromeliads may extirpate this limited reproductive microhabitats from natural habitats. |
| 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 | There is no specific plan for this species, but it is part of the National Action Plan "Plano de Ação Nacional para a Conservação da Herpetofauna Ameaçada da Mata Atlântica da Região Sudeste do Brasil" (PAN Herpetofauna do Sudeste). |
| 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 | |
| 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? | No | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | Ecophysiological studies. Laboratory controlled experiments to determine the degree of tolerance of changes in habitat, in particular, related to the structure of bromeliad and different temperatures. Similar experiment was conducted for Scinax perpusillus (Greenspan et al. 2020 Nature Climate Change 10: 1). |
| 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? | Yes | The species can be used as a model to develop an ex situ breeding protocol for other species of Crossodactylodes (C. pintoi and C. itambe). Note: All species of Crossodactylodes are threatened, but populations of C. izecksohni is in a slightly better condition, however this should be considered with caution as its situation is also complicated. |
| 21 | Captive breeding | Has this species been successfully bred and/or maintained in captivity? | Yes, bred to F1 | R.B. Ferreira (pers.comm. 2020) kept adults in 2016, which reproduced, laid eggs, tadpoles, juveniles and adults. They were deposited in scientific collection. S.P. Carvalho-e-Silva (pers.comm. 2020) kept adults (males and females) on bromeliads for 2-3 months before description (at different times, at the end of the 70s and the beginning of the 80s, in the Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro and in São Conrado). |
| 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 | This is an iconic species adopted by the Projeto Bromeligenous to promote environmental education with local communities. |
| 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 | |
| 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 |
Citation:
A.M.P. T. Carvalho-e-Silva, I.M. Barata, J.L. Gasparini, R.B. Ferreira and S.P. Carvalho-e-Silva 2020. Conservation Needs Assessment for Crossodactylodes izecksohni, Brazil
(AArk/ASG Brazil Assessment Workshop).
https://www.conservationneeds.org/assessment/486
Accessed 19 May 2024
