Assessment Results
Craugastor taurus
Golfito Robber Frog
Order:
Anura
Family:
Craugastoridae
Synonym(s):
Eleutherodactylus taurus
Assessed for:
Costa Rica
on:
22 Jan 2020
by:
AArk/ASG Assessment Workshop
IUCN Global Red List:
Endangered (EN)
National Red List:
(not assessed)
Distribution:
Costa Rica, Panama
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
20.00211102
Recommended Conservation Actions:
Additional Comments:
Environmental education is necessary in order to promote this as a flagship species in Punta Banco-Burica.
| Question # | Short Name | Question Text | Response | Comments |
| 1 | Extinction risk | Current IUCN Red List category. [Data obtained from the IUCN Red List.] | Endangered (EN) | This species was previously assessed under criterion A2 due to chytrid related declines. The serious population crashes associated with this disease seem to have taken place prior to the last ten years or three generations. Post-infection, this species has been persisting within a small portion of its historical range. While chytridiomycosis is not definitively considered to no longer be a threat, population declines in this species are now mainly caused by ongoing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat; however any population declines are expected to be less than 30 percent. On this basis, this species is now assessed under criterion B which has qualified it for Endangered. |
| 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 | This species is known from southwestern Costa Rica. As of 2013, the species is only known from two low elevation sites along the coast of the Golfo Dulce in Costa Rica (G. Chaves and B. Kubicki pers. comm. 2007, G. Chaves and A. García pers. comm. March 2013). Within Costa Rica, this species has historically been recorded from Parque Nacional Corcovado, the Reserva Biólogica el Naranjal and Parque Nacional Piedras Blancas; however the extant subpopulations are not protected (Costa Rica Red List Workshop September 2019) |
| 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 | Parque Nacional Corcovado, the Reserva Biólogica el Naranjal and Parque Nacional Piedras Blancas |
| 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.). | ||
| 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 | Through collaboration with local non-governmental organizations, grassroots habitat protection of the streams where this species occurs in Costa Rica is highly recommended (Costa Rica Red List Workshop 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 | Surveys are urgently needed to locate remaining individuals in Costa Rica. Studies are needed to determine the reasons behind the drastic decline, which could possibly involve the disease chytridiomycosis, in this species. |
| 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 unlikely to be reversed in time to prevent further decline / extinction | Chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), has been confirmed from within this species' range (Puschendorf et al. 2009). In 2011-2013, individuals from Punta Banco showed 0-80% prevalence of Bd, depending on the time of year and precipitation patterns (Whitfield et al. 2017), however, the species appears to be persisting perhaps because the dry conditions in Punta Banco may allow the frogs to coexist with Bd (Chaves et al. 2012, Whitfield et al. 2017, H. Zumbado-Ulate pers comm. September 2019). Individuals from this site have also tested positive for ranavirus infection (S. Whitfield pers. comm. September 2019). In Costa Rica, the only extant subpopulations are known to occur in Punta Banco-Burica, which is experiencing habitat loss due to coastal development, agriculture and livestock, and small-scale logging (Costa Rica Red List Workshop September 2019). This species is also likely to be threatened by surface water extraction for domestic and agricultural use (S. Whitfield pers. comm. September 2019), and the dumping of chemicals into rivers to harvest freshwater crustaceans is another probable threat (Costa Rica Red List Workshop September 2019). The expansion of oil palm plantations is a growing threat to the species in Costa Rica (H. Zumbado-Ulate pers comm. 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 | There are no records of this species being utilized. |
| 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 | This is a large species, unlikely to be overlooked, that was formerly very abundant, particularly in the Osa Peninsula and Golfito in Costa Rica (Savage 2002). By the early 1990s, all known subpopulations had been extirpated in Costa Rica, and its decline is considered enigmatic because population collapses were apparently simultaneous and occurred in protected and unprotected areas at low elevations. Since 2000, extensive field work within its historical distribution in Costa Rica has revealed that this frog is now restricted to a small area. A single individual was photographed in 2001 in Esquinas, Osa Peninsula (G. Chaves and B. Kubicki pers. comm. 2007), but the species has since disappeared from this site due to unknown reasons (G. Chaves pers. comm. September 2019). Two previously unknown subpopulations were discovered in Punta Banco in 2011, where the density was approximately 1.38 individuals/50 m (Chaves et al. 2014). Between 2011 and 2019, annual surveys have recorded this species in healthy numbers (both adults and juveniles) in additional sites in Punta Banco-Burica (H. Zumbado-Ulate pers comm. September 2019). Extensive, directed searches in other historical sites from 2000-2019 have failed to locate the species (Chaves et al. 2014, G. Chaves and H. Zumbado-Ulate pers. comm. September 2019). |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 21 | Captive breeding | Has this species been successfully bred and/or maintained in captivity? | Not held in captivity to date | |
| 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 | Environmental education is necessary in order to promote this as a flagship species in Punta Banco-Burica. |
| 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 Craugastor taurus, Costa Rica.
https://www.conservationneeds.org/assessment/5116
Accessed 19 May 2024
