Assessment Results
Hylodes glaber
Itatiaia Tree Toad
Order:
Anura
Family:
Hylodidae
Synonym(s):
Hylodes pulcher, Hylodes glabrus, Elosia glabra, Elosia pulchra
Assessed for:
Brazil
on:
11 Nov 2020
by:
AArk/ASG Brazil Assessment Workshop
Authors:
F.P. de Sá and L.F. Toledo
IUCN Global Red List:
Data Deficient (DD)
National Red List:
(not assessed)
Distribution:
Brazil
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
20.42660965
Recommended Conservation Actions:
Additional Comments:
If individuals are found, an ex situ conservation program is recommended.
| Question # | Short Name | Question Text | Response | Comments |
| 1 | Extinction risk | Current IUCN Red List category. [Data obtained from the IUCN Red List.] | Data Deficient (DD) | |
| 2 | Possibly extinct | Is there a strong possibility that this species might be extinct in the wild? | Yes / probably | The last specimen was collected in 1978. Considered rare (difficult to find), it was registered only in preserved areas of high altitude in the Atlantic Forest. Fabio de Sá has a project to find disappeared populations of the genus Hylodes. In 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016, his group sampled in the Parque Nacional do Itatiaia, searched in potential sites and did not find H. glaber, but they found H. regius and H. ornatus (Sá et al. 2020. The rediscovery of Hylodes regius: new information about a rare and microendemic Atlantic rainforest Torrent frog. Salamandra 56(4):285-295). They realized that perhaps a population fluctuation is occurring in H. regius and H. ornatus, since these species were abundant in the 1970s and have disappeared until now. Now they are finding again but with a low number of individuals. It also may be geographic oscillation, that is, they could be more abundant in places where they were not sampled within the park, or there may actually be a decline. These hypothesis would be possible for the three species of Hylodes. |
| 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 | The species was known only from the Parque Nacional do Itatiaia and the environment remains well preserved. |
| 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 do Itatiaia |
| 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 | The management of PN Itatiaia is concerned with the endemic and threatened species that occur in the park and the protection actions are constant. Some researchers have studies on the park that aims to search for missing Hylodes (Fábio de Sá and Paulo Garcia) or pathogens on endangered species (Luis Felipe Toledo). These actions directly or indirectly favor H. glaber. |
| 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.)? | No / unlikely | The Park is well managed and the environments seem to be well preserved. |
| 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 survey to find individuals throughout active search (visual and acoustic), pitfall traps, environmental DNA and/or automated acoustic recorder. The population should be searched in places not yet explored, since it is possible to have other environments suitable for the species. Studies on geographic dynamics are important to verify if the species moves along the park. Research also is needed on ecological niche, using other Hylodes as a model; on understand population dynamics; and on effects of climate change and pathogens. It’s also necessary to understand the causes for the species' disappearance. All of these researches would subsidize future actions. |
| 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 unknown | The threats to this species are unknown, since this species is not found since 1978, however, the most probable cause for its disappearence or even extinction was the chytridiomycosis, associated with climate change (severe frost in the 80s). The tourism in the park is also a potential threat. |
| 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? | No / unlikely | About 60% of the known species of Hylodes are endemic to small fragments, which ends up being an aggravating factor for possible declines. |
| 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 | Studies with closely related species on thermal and physiological ecology and on response to pathogens. |
| 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? | Yes / probably | Hylodes asper. For the development of the husbandry protocol, the suggestion is to start with Hylodes asper. An initial effort has already been made with H. asper at the São Paulo Zoo (C.S.Lisboa, pers. comm. 2020). After the protocol for H. asper is established, it is suggested to test to H. ornatus and regius, which are from the same locality as H. glaber, and have particularities regarding geographic and thermal characteristics. |
| 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 | Could be used as a flagship species to talk about extinction in the Parque Nacional do Itatiaia, where tourism is constant. |
| 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? | No / unlikely | |
| 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:
F.P. de Sá and L.F. Toledo
2020. Conservation Needs Assessment for Hylodes glaber, Brazil
(AArk/ASG Brazil Assessment Workshop).
https://www.conservationneeds.org/assessment/6797
Accessed 18 May 2024
