A survey of the reptiles and amphibians at the University of Georgia Costa Rica field station in San Luis de Monteverde, Costa Rica

By

Curlis, John David
Fisher, Elliot Convery
Muhic, W. Kody
Moy, James
Garro-Cruz, Martha
Montero-Ramírez, José Joaquín

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2020-11-4

Original Publication

Check list : journal of species lists and distribution

Volume

16

Series / Issue

Issue: 6

Pages

1433--1456

Subjects

Biodiversity , Frogs , herpetofauna , Lizards , Salamanders , Snakes

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

[São Paulo, Brazil] Luís Felipe Toledo 2005-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15560/16.6.1433

 

Abstract

Reptiles and amphibians are experiencing declines across the globe. In Monteverde, Costa Rica, these declines and their underlying causes have been relatively well studied since the early 1990s, and many protected areas have been set aside to conserve these species. However, thorough surveys of the herpetofaunal diversity in these areas have been scarce over the last 20 years. We conducted a survey of all reptile and amphibian species at the University of Georgia Costa Rica (UGACR), a field station in San Luis de Monteverde. Herein, we present an annotated checklist of the 48 species (35 reptiles and 13 amphibians) that we encountered. While we did not find any exceptionally rare or endangered species, the number of species we encountered is disproportionately high given the small plot of land occupied by UGACR. This underscores the importance of conducting regular diversity surveys in biodiversity hotspots as a means to better inform conservation efforts.