Architecture, Design and Conservation Danish Portal for Artistic and Scientific Research Aarhus School of Architecture // Design School Kolding // Royal Danish Academy The species status of the viviparous sea snakes Rasmussen, Arne Redsted Publication date: 2020 Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication Citation for pulished version (APA): Rasmussen, A. R. (2020). The species status of the viviparous sea snakes. 441. Abstract from World Congress of Herpetology 9, Dunedin, New Zealand. 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Sep. 2021 Amphibian Conservation Research Symposium (ACRS), Castle 1, January 10, 2020, 9:30 AM - 3:00 PM Victory against all odds: the successful conservation story of the Admirable Red-Belly Toad in Brazil Abadie M1, Fonte L3, Bordignon D1, Zank C2, Krob A2, Borges-Martins M1 1Federal University Of Rio Grande Do Sul, 2Instituto Curicaca, 3Trier University The Admirable Red-Belly Toad (Melanophryniscus admirabilis) is a microendemic species and one of the most threatened amphibians in Brazil. The only known site, in the southern Brazilian Atlantic Forest, is embedded in a small forest fragment surrounded by a heavily deforested agricultural landscape. Our work in the region was initially motivated by concern about the true geographic range and abundance of the Admirable Red-Belly Toad, which grew into a sense of conservation urgency, due to the very small size of the very threatened known population. Since 2010, we have studied its natural history, biology, ecology and genetics, aiming to its conservation. At that time, there was also a plan to build a small hydroelectric power plant upstream of the site. Through a multi-institutional effort, we managed to revert the government authorization to build the plant and, in the process, evaluated the risk category of Admirable Red-Belly Toad as Critically Endangered in global and regional red lists. It was the first time in Brazilian history that an amphibian prevented the construction of a big enterprise. Nevertheless, there are still many threats to the species. Currently, to ensure the maintenance of the population, our challenges are to create a protected area and to apply a long-term project involving local communities to replace their agro-chemical-intensive monocultures of tobacco and soybean with the production of native (and locally much consumed) Yerba-Mate in agroforestry systems. We believe this change in local production will benefit both local people and the entire population of the species. Improving the Interface between Research and Management for Conservation of New Zealand Reptiles and Frogs, Burns 2, January 10, 2020, 9:30 AM - 2:30 PM The challenges of conservation management for the Nationally Critical Chesterfield skink Adams L1, Hitchmough R1, Moran L1, Monks J2 1Department Of Conservation, 2Department of Conservation The Nationally Critical Chesterfield skink is currently known from a single coastal site <1 ha in extent north of Hokitika on the South Island’s West Coast. The species was already in a critical state when it was discovered in the 1990s. Taxonomic uncertainty (now resolved) delayed management and further habitat was lost in the intervening period. A research programme began in 2016 aiming to understand the species’ life history traits and threats to its persistence and to experimentally test predator exclusion fencing as a recovery strategy. Whilst agents of decline are not clearly identified, observtions of injuries suggest rodent predation may be a factor in their decline along with habitat degradation. Early in 2018 the population was estimated to be only 200 individuals. In 2018 the destructive Cyclone Fehi resulted in the loss of c. 1/3 of the coastal buffering habitat and the whole area was extensively washed over and damaged. As a result, the programme underwent a major change in direction. A captive population was established for insurance and the proposed experimental fence was abandoned due to the vulnerability to storm damage. A predator exclusion fence within the known historical range, away from storm damage is recommended, but options are limited on this privately-owned land. The wild population remains at risk from storm events and the species’ future is still precarious with extinction a real possibility. Adaption & Evolution 2, Castle 1, January 6, 2020, 4:00 PM - 5:45 PM Microclimate, more than phylogeny, drives interspecific variation in heat tolerance within a subtropical anuran community. Agudelo-Cantero G1, Gomes F2, Navas C2 1Graduate School Program in General Physiology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, 2Department of Physiology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo Studies on species responses to climate change have relied primarily on coarse-scale climatic data (e.g., > 1-km²), but individual-level processes determining some of these responses occur in the domain of the microclimate, i.e., the climate in spatiotemporal scales relevant to individuals. Herein we investigated the interspecific variation in heat tolerance within an anuran community in a small area (~ 1-km²) of a subtropical forest ecosystem, the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We collected tadpoles of seven anuran species in a set of waterbodies differing in physical structure, temporality and vegetation cover, and measured their Critical Thermal Maximum (CTmax) in the field. Under an information-theoretical framework, we analyzed the extent to which species’ CTmax was related to microclimatic or macroclimatic temperatures and phylogeny. We found that microclimates experienced by tadpoles differ considerably from their common macroclimate: waterbodies in open areas amplified thermal extremes, whereas waterbodies inside the forest were more thermally stable and buffered macroclimatic conditions. Furthermore, species’ CTmax was tightly related to the microclimatic maximum temperature (Tmax) and less to the macroclimate or phylogeny. Thus, the most heat-tolerant species occupy open temporary ponds that reached the highest Tmax, whereas the less heat-tolerant species inhabit permanent ponds and streams inside the forest. Since the environmental and physiological variation within this anuran community is compatible with the previously reported across macroecological gradients, we highlight the role of the microclimate in shaping physiological tolerances in anuran larvae. Physiology 1, St David A & B, January 10, 2020, 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM Anuran larvae exhibit lower upper thermal limits and warming tolerance than a natural predator. Agudelo-Cantero G1, Gomes F2, Navas C2 1Graduate School Program in General Physiology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, 2Department of Physiology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo Warming tolerance (WT), the difference between the Critical Thermal Maximum (CTmax) and habitat temperature (Thab), is a widely used metric to estimate individual vulnerability to acute warming. However, a conceptual expansion of WT to the population level requires more than averaging individual values, and certainly should consider inter-individual variation in both CTmax and microclimate exposure. Also, the biotic environment, a critical aspect affecting population dynamics, remains overlooked in assessments of species’ vulnerability to warming. Herein we tested the hypothesis that average CTmax of two anuran species is lower than that of a natural predator (dragonfly naiads), and inter-individual variation in CTmax differ among taxa. We collected both tadpoles and dragonfly naiads in the same pond, estimated their CTmax in the field using two experimental heating rates (0.1 and 1°C/min), and measured Thab both at macroclimatic (local weather station) and microclimatic scales (HOBO dataloggers). The CTmax, and consequently WT, of Dendropsophus minutus and Rhinella icterica was in average more than 2°C lower than in dragonfly naiads. Also, the inter-individual variation in CTmax and WT of D. minutus and dragonfly naiads were almost two-fold that of R. icterica. Furthermore, WT values were overestimated by about 8.6°C when using the macroclimatic Thab. Finally, heating rate effects were quite small on averages CTmax and WT and did not affect their variances. Overall, larvae of both anuran species are more vulnerable to an acute warming than their predator, which could put them at greater predation risk as microclimatic temperatures approach their CTmax. Adaption & Evolution 2, Castle 1, January 6, 2020, 4:00 PM - 5:45 PM First report of extracranial calcified endolymph in Liopholis skinks (Scincidae) and its relationship with burrowing AGUILAR R1,2 1Monash University , 2Museums Victoria, 3The University of Melbourne Calcified endolymph (CE) is a crystalised form of