Assessment Results
Crossodactylodes itambe
Itambe's Bromeliad Frog
Order:
Anura
Family:
Leptodactylidae
Synonym(s):
Assessed for:
Brazil
on:
21 Aug 2020
by:
AArk/ASG Brazil Assessment Workshop
Authors:
I.M. Barata and F.S.F. Leite
IUCN Global Red List:
Not Evaluated (NE)
National Red List:
(not assessed)
Distribution:
Brazil
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
18
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.] | Not Evaluated (NE) | |
| 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 | The population of this species occurs 100% within Parque Estadual do Pico do Itambé, a relatively well-managed protected area. However, the park is threatened by criminal fires which has a negative effect on the population dynamics of C. itambe (Barata, I.M., pers. comm., 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? | No / unlikely | This species is endemic of Parque Estadual do Pico do Itambé and lives only in bromeliads of the species Vriesea medusa. This bromeliad species also occurs at Parque Estadual do Rio Preto, but C. itambe is not recorded there. In 2015, 80% of the Parque Estadual do Pico do Itambé area was affected by a large criminal fire, so it is necessary to effectively restore and protect the habitat before actions like supplementation. |
| 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 Parque Estadual do Pico do Itambé has good management, but despite this, fires occur on a regular basis. A workshop to discuss fire management and control is being organized to take place in 2021. |
| 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 | Improve the firefighting program; include this species as a focal target in the Park's Management Plan; restore the area that was affected by the fire; discuss and implement a policy to regulate tourism in the Park. |
| 9 | In situ research | Is additional in situ research required to better understand the species, e.g. distribution, population trends, natural history etc.? | Yes | Understand the impacts of fire on population dynamics; monitor population trends in the long term; experiments with artificial refuges; evaluate the presence and impacts of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) on the population; assess genetic variability; studies with bromeliads (dynamics, biology, phenology, density, etc.); population estimate of C. itambe in bromeliads. |
| 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: at the peak of the Park, which is where the species occurs, there are small changes in the landscape, regular anthropogenic fires and unregulated tourism; In the lower parts of the park, where the species does not occur, grazing and selective collection of plants of economic value (including bromeliads) is present, but not very significant. |
| 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? | Yes / probably | |
| 13 | Action plans | Does an Action Plan for the species already exist, or is one currently being developed? | No | It is necessary to include the species as a target in the National Action Plan "Plano de Ação Nacional para a conservação da flora ameaçada de extinção da Serra do Espinhaço Meridional - PAN Serra do Espinhaço" |
| 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 | Laboratory controlled experiments with related species 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? | Yes / probably | Crossodactylodes izecksohni. 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. |
| 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 | Environmental education is developed by park manager, but not continuously. Instituto Biotrópicos (NGO based in Diamantina) implemented a long-term educational program from 2011-18. It is necessary to better implement ecotourism activity in the Park with involvement of park rangers and local guides. C. itambe has potential to be the park’s flagship species. |
| 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:
I.M. Barata and F.S.F. Leite 2020. Conservation Needs Assessment for Crossodactylodes itambe, Brazil
(AArk/ASG Brazil Assessment Workshop).
https://www.conservationneeds.org/assessment/6800
Accessed 14 May 2024
