Assessment Results
Agalychnis lemur
Lemur Leaf Frog
Order:
Anura
Family:
Hylidae
Synonym(s):
Phyllomedusa lemur
Assessed for:
Costa Rica
on:
13 Jan 2020
by:
AArk/ASG Assessment Workshop
IUCN Global Red List:
Critically Endangered (CR)
National Red List:
(not assessed)
Distribution:
Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
20.88495324
Recommended Conservation Actions:
Additional Comments:
Reintroductions into sites with suitable habitat should be considered (V. Acosta pers. comm. September 2019).
| Question # | Short Name | Question Text | Response | Comments |
| 1 | Extinction risk | Current IUCN Red List category. [Data obtained from the IUCN Red List.] | Critically Endangered (CR) | |
| 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 - 50 | |
| 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 | It occurs predominantly on the Atlantic versant from the vicinity of Tilarán, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. The disjunct Pacific slope records are from northwestern Costa Rica. Populations in Guayacán and Veraguas protected by private reserves but they do not comprise at least 50% of the individuals of the taxon. |
| 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 | Associated with sloping areas in humid lowland and montane primary forest, and is not found in degraded habitats. In Cordillera Tilarán. |
| 6 | Previous reintroductions | Have reintroduction or translocation attempts been made in the past for this species? | Yes, successfully | In 2003, the species was intentionally reintroduced to a historical site in Guayacán Reserve and at Las Brisas Ranch, Siquirres; ca. 75 tadpoles rescued from another site ca. 30 km away (airline distance) and introduced to the area, and the species is now colonizing other neighboring properties, all of which are within its general historical range (B. Kubicki pers. comm. September 2019). |
| 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 | Situating barrels of water in the forest has successfully attracted this species to reproduce (B. Kubicki pers. comm. August 2010). |
| 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 | Improved habitat protection is needed for the remaining extant subpopulations in Costa Rica (Costa Rica Red List Workshop September 2019). The driver(s) of declines in several historical sites has been addressed (H. Zumbado-Ulate and J. Rodríguez pers. comm. September 2019) and reintroductions into sites with suitable habitat should be considered (V. Acosta pers. comm. September 2019). |
| 9 | In situ research | Is additional in situ research required to better understand the species, e.g. distribution, population trends, natural history etc.? | Yes | Research is needed on population distribution, current threats, and population trends. Research into the genetic variation in wild and captive populations is recommended in order to explore the feasibility and need for supplementation and/or possible reintroductions into the wild (M. O'Donnell pers. comm. September 2019). |
| 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 | Ranavirus is a potential threat to this species, as infected individuals have been documented in Siquirres; however, the effect of this virus on the species remains unknown (S. Whitfield and H. Zumbado-Ulate pers. comm. September 2019). General habitat loss and fragmentation remains a threat throughout this species' range, and this is especially the case in Costa Rica where deforestation by squatters threatens Fila Asunción, one of the two confirmed remaining subpopulations in the country. The other extant subpopulation at Siquirres is currently protected by a private landowner; however should the ownership change in the future, the security of this subpopulation could be at risk (Costa Rica Red List Workshop September 2019). The other historical sites in Costa Rica have been deforested for agriculture and livestock ranching (Costa Rica Red List Workshop September 2019). |
| 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? | No / unlikely | This species is commercially available in the pet trade, presumably from captive-bred sources. In the past it was collected and sold in Costa Rica |
| 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 | It was once considered to be a reasonably common species in Costa Rica, but most subpopulations disappeared in the late 1980s and early 1990s. As of 2019, the species has been reported with certainty from only three areas in Costa Rica: Fila Asunción, 15 km south-west of Limón in Veraguas (an abandoned farm); in a forested area near Parque Nacional Barbilla and Siquirres in Limón Province (B. Kubucki and S. Salazar pers. comm. September 2019); and from La Alegría in Guayacan in Limón Province (Garcia-Rodriguez et al. 2012). The species has been reported from a fourth area in Costa Rica: Cedral, near Miramar, however this record remains unconfirmed (F. Bolaños pers. comm. September 2019). In 2003, the species was intentionally reintroduced to a historical site in Siquirres; ca. 75 tadpoles rescued from another site ca. 30 km away (airline distance) and introduced to the area, and the species is now colonizing other neighboring properties, all of which are within its general historical range (B. Kubicki pers. comm. September 2019). All other previously known Costa Rican subpopulations are thought to have disappeared, including those in Monteverde, San Ramón, Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo, and Parque Nacional Tapantí. It is still un-recovered in much of its Costa Rican range, and has not been recorded in recent years in the Cordillera Central or Cordillera de Tilarán (Costa Rica Red List Assessment Workshop September 2019). |
| 13 | Action plans | Does an Action Plan for the species already exist, or is one currently being developed? | No | There is a general National Action Plan for threatened species of Costa Rica - 2007 |
| 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? | No | Research on genetics for the captive population is needed. |
| 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 | Species has been maintained at Manchester Museum for a long while and have maintanance and breeding protocols in place. |
| 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 | |
| 21 | Captive breeding | Has this species been successfully bred and/or maintained in captivity? | Yes, bred to F2 | Kept at Manchester Museum, Nordens Ark, Bristol Zoo (M. Odonnel, pers. comm. Sept. 2019) |
| 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? | No | |
| 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:
AArk/ASG Assessment Workshop. 2020. Conservation Needs Assessment for Agalychnis lemur, Costa Rica.
https://www.conservationneeds.org/assessment/5105
Accessed 19 May 2024
