Assessment Results
Pedostibes tuberculosus
Malabar Tree Toad, Warty Asian Tree Toad
Order:
Anura
Family:
Bufonidae
Synonym(s):
Nectophryne tuberculosa
Assessed for:
India
on:
09 Oct 2020
by:
AArk/ASG India Assessment Workshop
Authors:
Nikhil Danddekar, Gururaja K.V., Keerthi Krutha, Nikhil Modak, Dr. Anand Padhye, Rajkumar K.P. and Seshadri K.S.
IUCN Global Red List:
Endangered (EN)
National Red List:
(not assessed)
Distribution:
India
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
20.59310711
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.] | Least Concern (LC) | Was previously listed as 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 endemic to the Western Ghats of India, where it has a very fragmented range. This frog is present in the western Ghats states of Kerala, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra (Dinesh et al. 2009). In Kerala, it occurs in Silent Valley National Park, Palakkad District (Pillai 1986), Ponmudi in Thiruvananthapuram District (Inger et al. 1984), Vanjikadavu (Biju 2001), and Vannathimala in Wayanad District (Dinesh and Radhakrishnan 2008). In Goa, it is known from Cotegao Wildlife Sanctuary (Das and Whitaker 1998), and Mollem (Dahanukar et al. 2004). In Tamil Nadu, it is present in Kalakkad in Tirunelveli District (Biju 2001). In Karnataka, it occurs in Jakkanagadde, Sharavathi River basin in Shimoga District (Gururaja and Ramachandra 2006), Bhagavathi forest range of Kudremukh National Park, Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary in Kannur District (Dinesh and Radhakrishnan 2008), Sirsi-Honnavara forest division (Kumara et al. 2008), Bedthi, Aghanashini and Sharavathi and Kali river basins in Uttara Kannada District (Gururaja et al. 2008, Ramachandra et al. 2012), Kathalekan (Chandran et al. 2010), Agumbe Rainforest Research Station (Purushotham and Tapley 2011), and Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary and Anshi National Park (Gururaja and Ramachandra 2012). In Maharashtra, it has been reported from Sahyadri Tiger Reserve in Satara District (Sayyed and Male 2017). It is likely to also occur in Chandoli National Park, Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary, and parts of Amboli and the Tilari region of Maharashtra (Sayyed and Male 2017). It occurs at elevations of 60-1,800m asl (Gururaja KV, pers. comm. October 2020). |
| 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 | |
| 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 | It has been recorded from several protected areas, including the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra), Cotigao Wild Life Sanctuary (Goa), Indira Ghandi National Park and Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (Tamil Nadu), Ponmudi Hills and Silent Valley National Park (Kerala). The species is the focus of ongoing studies from 1998 to the present (S. D. Biju pers. comm.). |
| 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 | |
| 9 | In situ research | Is additional in situ research required to better understand the species, e.g. distribution, population trends, natural history etc.? | Yes | Further survey work and research are needed, in particular to determine geographic range, effects of Bd and climate change (India RLA/CNA workshop, 2020) Population monitoring is also recommended. |
| 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 | It is threatened by the conversion of its forest habitat to non-timber plantations (including coffee and tea), the collection of timber and wood for subsistence use by local people, and the construction of roads and dams. It is unknown to what extent it can tolerate forest loss however they require trees for breeding (India RLA/CNA workshop, October 2020). There is an ongoing loss of natural habitats due to anthropogenic disturbance over much of the Western Ghats. This is caused by the development of roads and road widening (K.V. Gururaja pers. comm. August 2020), small-scale plantations, illegal encroachment and unsustainable harvesting of tree species. The major threats to this species includes habitat fragmentation due to road development, pesticide use in paddy fields (K.S. Seshadri and K.V. Gururaja pers. comm. September 2020). Development for human settlements and construction is also a threat to this species. Lateritic plateaus and meadows have been designated as wastelands, and these habitats are targeted and easily converted for development (Nikhil Modak and Dr. Anand Padhye pers. comm. September 2020). Bauxite mining is a major threat for this species (India RLA/CNA workshop, October 2020). The development of large and small check dams are threats throughout its range (India RLA/CNA workshop, October 2020). Climate change could be a potential future threat to this species; it is an early monsoon breeder, so any change in monsoon will affect its breeding activity. Runoff from the plateaus, due to the species presence on slopes, is particularly problematic for this species and any increase in rainfall and flooding will result in the loss of breeding sites and habitat - current threat (Keerthi Krutha and Nikhil Dandekar, pers. comm. October 2020). Road kills have also been observed in this species, especially during breeding season when they gather in congregations on the ground (Rajkumar KP and Seshadri KS, pers. comm. October 2020). |
| 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 | |
| 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? | Unknown | It is locally uncommon outside of the breeding season and believed to be declining. It is a very seasonal species and is only found in the early part of the breeding season (Gururaja KV, pers. comm. October 2020). |
| 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 | This is the only toad species in the Western Ghats which climbs on trees, and it leaves individual eggs rather than in a string (Gururaja KV, pers. comm. October 2020). |
| 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? | Yes | Potential flagship ranking: 2 (conservation practitioner), (Kanagavel et al. 2017). This species is an indicator of the coming monsoon as it croaks very early (Gururaja KV, pers. comm. October 2020). |
| 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:
Nikhil Danddekar, Gururaja K.V., Keerthi Krutha, Nikhil Modak, Dr. Anand Padhye, Rajkumar K.P. and Seshadri K.S. 2020. Conservation Needs Assessment for Pedostibes tuberculosus, India
(AArk/ASG India Assessment Workshop).
https://www.conservationneeds.org/assessment/5631
Accessed 17 May 2024
