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FROGLOG Newsletter of the Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force

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Agalychnis callidryas by Tim Halliday ISSN 1026-0269 FROGLOG Newsletter of the Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force April 2005, Number 68 or appeals are ongoing or likely to be post-fire flooding on amphibian The DAPTF submitted concerning the listing or habitats in southern California; and the California / critical habitat designation for 4 other role of climate change in population Nevada Working amphibians: California red-legged declines of the foothill yellow-legged Group Annual frog (Rana aurora draytonii), mountain frog. Meeting yellow-legged frog (R. muscosa), relict C. Protection and Recovery By David Bradford, Working Group leopard frog (R. onca), and Siskiyou Efforts. Presentations by the Chair mountain salamander (Plethodon California Department of Fish and th The 13 annual meeting of the stormi). The US Environmental Game (CDFG) and National Park working group was held at the Protection Agency (EPA) was sued for Service showed remarkable recovery University of California, Berkeley, on not consulting with FWS about of populations of the mountain yellow- January 13-14, 2005. Over 150 potential impacts of pesticides on the legged frog following removal of individuals attended, representing (in threatened red-legged frog. introduced fish. CDFG has developed order of frequency): federal agencies, Subsequently, EPA issued new a number of basin management plans universities, environmental consulting guidelines allowing it to use its own that include restoration of native firms, state agencies, independent discretion in deciding whether to aquatic faunal assemblages. Other parties, and non-governmental consult with FWS concerning papers described the creation of new organizations. The meeting was endangered species. These pond habitat for the Columbia spotted sponsored by the California guidelines are being challenged. A frog (Rana luteiventris); a remarkable Biodiversity Centre of the University of lawsuit against the California comeback for the California red- California. Department of Pesticide Regulation legged frog in Calaveras County, Two keynote presentations pertaining to potential effects of home of the famous Mark Twain were given. Dr. David Wake, UC pesticides on amphibians has been Jumping Frog Contest; management Berkeley, spoke on “Amphibian “mooted” for technical reasons, but an of habitat for the red-legged frog within Declines: A 15-year Retrospective. appeal is ongoing. Several habitat the State Water Project facilities; and Where Are We Heading?” This was conservation plans are under development of conservation an enlightening talk that included development or in progress that will strategies for five Sierra Nevada several perspectives on the value of affect a number of amphibians in amphibians. biodiversity, using amphibians as California and Nevada. D. Fundamental Biology. A examples; the history of recognition of B. Factors Potentially Affecting number of papers addressed various the declining amphibian phenomenon; Amphibian Populations. Three papers aspects of amphibian biology that are the many accomplishments resulting addressed chytridiomycosis in the relevant to the protection or recovery from this concern; and recent mountain yellow-legged frog in the of species. Included were studies on documentation for the magnitude of Sierra Nevada Mountains. Topics the seasonal movements, habitat declines and the lack of understanding included the sequence of events in the variability, and mating system of the for many of them. continued decimation of frog foothill yellow-legged frog; Dr. Tyrone Hayes, UC populations, the lack of evidence that complementary resource use in the Berkeley, spoke on “From Silent the chytrid pathogen is able to survive Cascades frog (R. cascadae); life Spring to Silent Night: Pesticides and when its amphibian host is absent, history of post-metamorphic tailed What Our Canary is Trying to Tell Us.” and the efficacy of using tadpole frogs (Ascaphus truei); upland habitat This was a stirring talk on the mouthparts to determine the chytrid use by the California tiger salamander; abundant evidence for adverse effects status of frog populations. Two age structure and longevity of the of the world’s most heavily used papers provided new correlative mountain yellow-legged frog; influence pesticide, atrazine, on frog evidence that airborne pesticides are of watershed-scale properties reproductive biology, and the adversely affecting amphibian (especially forest cover) on stream resistance of the regulatory populations in the Sierra Nevada temperature and the existence of the community to accept and act on these Mountains. Other presentations on cold-water amphibians, tailed frog and new findings. impacts addressed the palatability of southern torrent salamander Twenty-nine contributed talks two native amphibians to introduced (Rhyacotriton variegatus); and and 5 posters reflected a variety of fish, Yosemite toad (Bufo canorus) malformation and trematode parasitic topics and species: and Pacific treefrog (Pseudacris infection in frogs. A. Legal Actions. In 2004, the regilla); influence of vegetation E. Population Status, US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) encroachment on populations of the Distribution, and Phylogeography. listed all population segments of the Amargosa toad (Bufo nelsoni); video Studies on two taxa, foothill and California tiger salamander observations of crayfish predation on mountain yellow-legged frogs, (Ambystoma californiense) as eggs of the foothill yellow-legged frog provided detailed phylogenetic trees endangered or threatened. Petitions (Rana boylii); effects of wild fires and which should be helpful in identifying 1 natural dispersal corridors and metamorphosed juvenile in October Acknowledgements appropriate geographic units for 1995 (García-Pérez, 1997), two tadpoles I am indebted to the personnel of the conservation. A population of the in February 2004 and 18 tadpoles in Parque Nacional General Cruz Carrillo lowland leopard frog (R. yavapaiensis) December 2004. Additionally, we (Guaramacal) for the support they have has been found in Arizona in an area recorded the advertisement call of a frog given my undergraduate students and I. previously speculated to contain the species in April 2002 and November This study was partially granted by relict leopard frog, a discovery that 2004 that, because of its similarities with Asociación ECONATURA (a Venezuelan confounds plans for re-establishing new other members of the genus, I am Conservation NGO) and UNELLEZ populations of the relict leopard frog in confident belongs to the genus Atelopus. (Universidad Nacional Experimental de this area. Up to November 2004, I had only Los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel F. Survey and Monitoring observed Atelopus specimens in a Zamora) grant SEI 23194106. I am Programs. CDFG has nearly completed single mountain stream, with a 45 thankful to Enrique La Marca, who a comprehensive survey of fish and degree slope, causing concern about discovered the species and for his field amphibians in all bodies of water in the possible deleterious events due to companionship and scientific support. Sierra Nevada. The US forest Service flooding and landslides in the rainy References has initiated a long-term monitoring season, as suggested by La Marca and García-Pérez, J.E. 1997. Evaluación del program for status and change of Lötters (1997). I corroborated such estado poblacional de dos especies de populations and habitat for the mountain changes in this stream several times in sapitos amenazadas de extinction: yellow-legged frog and Yosemite toad the course of this study, which removed Atelopus mucubajiensis y Atelopus sp. throughout the Sierra Nevada. The and dragged soil, plants and possibly (Anura: Bufonidae) Parque Nacional meeting agenda and abstracts are frogs, from the stream margins and Sierra Nevada y Parque Nacional available at: subsequently impoverished the habitat. Páramo Guaramacal “General Cruz www.http://ice.ucdavis.edu/CANVDecl Fortunately in December 2004, I Carrillo”, en los Andes venezolanos: iningAmphibians/. The 2006 annual found evidence of a second breeding resultados preliminares. In I. Novo, L. G. meeting will be held on January 12-13 in population in a neighboring stream that Morales, C.T. Rodríguez and G. Arcata, California. had not suffered from flooding or Martínez (Eds.). Ciencia y conservación changes from landslides and which had en el Sistema de Parques Nacionales de Survival of an several suitable pools for Atelopus Venezuela, pp. 211–216. Caracas, undescribed tadpoles. Although I did not hear any Venezuela Atelopus from frog songs at this time, the presence of the Venezuelan tadpoles indicated the survival of at least García-Pérez, J. E. 1999. La Andes one reproductive pair, because all Herpetofauna del Macizo de Guaramacal, In N. Cuello Ed. “Parque tadpoles were in the same larval stage. The two breeding populations Nacional Guaramacal”, pp 127-137. By Juan Elías García-Pérez, are found in a mainly pristine protected UNELLEZ-Guanare La Marca, E. 2004. Der Rückgang von area (Guaramacal National Park). The Froschpopulationen in den Hochanden The genus Atelopus has caused concern only sign of environmental intervention Venezuelas. Reptilia: 46: 34-38. among neotropical herpetologists and is an unpaved dirt road, with limited conservation biologists, because all La Marca, E., & S. Lötters. 1997. access for four-wheel drive vehicles. The Monitoring of declines Venezuelan described species are listed in the IUCN road is periodically maintained by Red
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  • Research Article Assessing the Molecular Phylogeny of a Near Extinct Group of Vertebrates: the Neotropical Harlequin Frogs (Bufonidae; Atelopus)

    Research Article Assessing the Molecular Phylogeny of a Near Extinct Group of Vertebrates: the Neotropical Harlequin Frogs (Bufonidae; Atelopus)

    Systematics and Biodiversity (2011), 9(1):45–57 Research Article Assessing the molecular phylogeny of a near extinct group of vertebrates: the Neotropical harlequin frogs (Bufonidae; Atelopus) STEFAN LOTTERS¨ 1,ARIEVANDERMEIJDEN2,LUISA.COLOMA3,RENAUDBOISTEL4,PETERCLOETENS4, RAFFAEL ERNST5,EDGARLEHR6 &MICHAELVEITH1 1Trier University, Department of Biogeography, Universitatsring¨ 15, 54286 Trier, Germany 2CIBIO, Centro de Investigac¸ao˜ em Biodiversidade e Recursos Geneticos,´ Campus Agrario´ de Vairao,˜ 4485-661, Vairao,˜ Portugal 3Centro de Investigacion´ y Conservacion´ de Anfibios, Giovanni Farina 566, San Rafael, Quito, Ecuador 4iPHEP-UMR CNRS 6046, UFR SFA Universite´ de Poitiers, 40 avenue du Recteur Pineau, 86022 Poitiers, France 5Museum of Zoology, Senckenberg Natural History Collections Dresden, A. B. Meyer Building, 01109 Dresden, Germany 6Illinois Wesleyan University, Department of Biology, PO BOX 2900, Bloomington, IL 61702-2900, USA (Received 4 May 2010; revised 17 January 2011; accepted 19 January 2011; printed 30 March 2011) Neotropical harlequin frogs, Atelopus,areaspecies-richbufonidgroup.Atelopus monophyly has been suggested but intergeneric, interspecific and intraspecific relationships are poorly understood. One reason is that morphological characters of harlequin frogs are often difficult to interpret, making species delimitations difficult. Molecular analyses (DNA barcoding, phylogeny) may be helpful but sampling is hampered as most of the more than 100 Atelopus species have undergone severe population declines and many are possibly extinct. We processed mitochondrial DNA (12S and 16S rRNA) of 28 available ingroup samples from a large portion of the genus’ geographic range (Bayesian Inference, Maximum Likelihood). Our samples constitute a monophyletic unit, which is sister to other bufonid genera studied including the Andean genus Osornophryne. In contrast to previous morphological studies, our results suggest that Osornophryne is neither sister to Atelopus nor nested within it.