Range expansion for the Critically Endangered poison-dart frog Leucostethus bilsa Vigle et al., 2020 (Amphibia, Dendrobatidae), demonstrating the importance of small forest reserves in the Ecuadorian Chocó

By

Jones, S. Holden
Franco-Mena, Daniela
Zambrano Cantos, Darwin
Loor Vélez, Julio César
Aulestia, Carlos
Zahawi, Rakan A
Guayasamin, Juan M.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2024-7-11

Original Publication

Check list : journal of species lists and distribution

Volume

20

Series / Issue

Issue: 4

Pages

853--858

Subjects

Amphibians , Connectivity , Conservation , forest-dependence , Fragmentation

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

[São Paulo, Brazil] Luís Felipe Toledo 2005-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15560/20.4.853

 

Abstract

The Ecuadorian Chocó is a global conservation hotspot with high levels of biodiversity and endemism but is threatened by extensive deforestation. Here, we report the discovery of an additional locality for the Critically Endangered poison-dart frog Leucostethus bilsa (Amphibia, Dendrobatidae) in a privately protected forest reserve in Esmeraldas, Ecuador. This may represent a distinct IUCN location for the species, thereby downgrading its IUCN threat level to Endangered. This finding increases the extent of occurrence for L. bilsa from 0.9 to 4.78 km2, and the area of occupancy from 8.0 to 16.0 km2, demonstrating the importance of small forest reserves for the conservation of forest-dependent amphibians. Further surveys are warranted to determine whether the species is present in additional forest fragments in the region, the degree of connectivity, if any, between individuals inhabiting different fragments, and whether the species’ population is increasing, stable, or in decline.