Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog (Rana Muscosa)
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mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa) Southern California Distinct Population Segment 5-year Review: Summary and Evaluation Mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa) and habitat. Photocredit: Adam Backlin (USGS). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office Carlsbad, California July 13, 2012 2012 5-year Review for mountain yellow-legged frog 5-YEAR REVIEW mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa) Southern California Distinct Population Segment I. GENERAL INFORMATION Purpose of 5-year Reviews: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is required by section 4(c)(2) of the Endangered Species Act (Act) to conduct a status review of each listed species at least once every 5 years. The purpose of a 5-year review is to evaluate whether or not the species’ status has changed since it was listed (or since the most recent 5-year review). Based on the 5-year review, we recommend whether the species should be removed from the list of endangered and threatened species, be changed in status from endangered to threatened, or be changed in status from threatened to endangered. Our original listing of a species as endangered or threatened is based on the existence of threats attributable to one or more of the five threat factors described in section 4(a)(1) of the Act, and we must consider these same five factors in any subsequent consideration of reclassification or delisting of a species. In the 5-year review, we consider the best available scientific and commercial data on the species, and focus on new information available since the species was listed or last reviewed. If we recommend a change in listing status based on the results of the 5-year review, we must propose to do so through a separate rule-making process defined in the Act that includes public review and comment. Species Overview: As summarized in the final listing rule, mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa), is a medium-sized amphibian in the family Ranidae (true frogs). The listed entity is a Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of the R. muscosa species and is currently limited to nine populations in the San Gabriel, San Bernardino, and San Jacinto Mountains in southern California. The southern California DPS was listed as Endangered due to substantial population declines thought to be caused primarily by nonnative trout predation and habitat impacts associated with recreation. Rana muscosa also exists in the southern Sierra Nevada in isolation from the listed entity. This species is a member of the mountain yellow-legged frog complex, which is comprised of two species: R. muscosa and R. sierrae. Populations of mountain yellow-legged in southern California occupied a wide elevational range historically (370 meters (m) to 2,290 m (1,200 feet (ft) to 7,500 ft)) with use of rocky, shaded streams and cool waters originating from springs and snowmelt. Hibernation occurs under water or in streambank crevices during the coldest winter months. Individuals emerge from hibernation in the spring and begin breeding shortly after. All known extant populations of the listed entity occur within the San Bernardino and Angeles National Forests. The southern California DPS of Rana muscosa was listed as Endangered under the Act in 2002, and R. muscosa is not listed by the State of California. 2 2012 5-year Review for mountain yellow-legged frog Methodology Used to Complete This Review: This review was prepared by Susan North, Fish and Wildlife Biologist at the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, following the Region 8 guidance issued in March 2008. To update the status and threats to mountain yellow-legged frog, information was gathered from the following sources: the final listing rule; the final critical habitat rule; peer-reviewed and published scientific studies; survey information and knowledge from species experts who monitor the DPS and captive populations (i.e., Adam Backlin, Elizabeth Gallegos, and Robert Fisher, United States Geological Survey (USGS); Leslie Welch, Nathan Sill, Anne Poopatanapong, and Kathie Meyer, United States Forest Service (USFS); Mike Giusti, Jeff Brandt, Tim Hovey, John O’Brien, Curtis Milliron, and Mitch Lockhart, California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG); Frank Santana and Jeff Lemm, San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research (SD Zoo ICR); Ian Recchio, Los Angeles Zoo (LA Zoo); Andy Snider, Fresno-Chaffee Zoo (Fresno Zoo); and Becca Fenwick (University of California, James San Jacinto Mountains Reserve)); and other information in our files. We received no information from the public in response to our Federal Notice initiating this 5-year review. This 5-year review contains updated information on the species’ biology and threats, and an assessment of that information compared to that known at the time of listing. We focus on current threats to the species identified under the Act’s five listing factors. The review synthesizes all this information to evaluate the listing status of the species and provide an indication of its progress towards recovery. Finally, based on this synthesis and the threats identified in the five-factor analysis, we recommend a prioritized list of conservation actions to be completed or initiated within the next 5 years. Contact Information: Lead Regional Office: Larry Rabin, Deputy Division Chief for Listing, Recovery, and Environmental Contaminants, and Lisa Ellis, Fish and Wildlife Biologist, Region 8; 916– 414–6464. Lead Field Office: Susan North, Fish and Wildlife Biologist, and Bradd Baskerville- Bridges, Recovery Branch Chief, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office; 760–431–9440. Federal Register (FR) Notice Citation Announcing Initiation of This Review: A notice announcing initiation of the 5-year review of this taxon and the opening of a 60-day period to receive information from the public was published in the Federal Register on May 21, 2010 (USFWS 2010, p. 28636). No information relevant to the taxon reviewed here was received in response to the Federal Register notice. Listing History: Federal Listing FR Notice: 67 FR 44382 Date of Final Listing Rule: July 2, 2002 3 2012 5-year Review for mountain yellow-legged frog Entity Listed: Frog, mountain yellow-legged (southern California DPS) (Rana muscosa), an amphibian DPS Classification: Endangered State Listing The California Fish and Game Commission recently concluded that a petition to list Rana muscosa as an endangered species is warranted under CESA (CFCG 2012, p. 1). Associated Rulemakings: Proposed Critical Habitat FR Notice: 70 FR 54106 Date of Proposed Critical Habitat Rule: September 13, 2005 Final Critical Habitat FR Notice: 71 FR 54344 Date of Final Critical Habitat Rule: September 14, 2006 Review History: No previous 5-year reviews have been completed for the southern California DPS of mountain yellow-legged frog. Species’ Recovery Priority Number at Start of 5-year Review: The recovery priority number for the listed entity is 3 according to the Service’s 2011 Recovery Data Call for the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, based on a 1–18 ranking system where 1 is the highest-ranked recovery priority and 18 is the lowest (USFWS 1983a, pp. 43098–43105; USFWS 1983b, p. 51985). This number indicates that the taxon is a DPS that faces a high degree of threat and has a high potential for recovery. Recovery Plan or Outline: There is no approved Recovery Plan for the southern California DPS of mountain yellow-legged frog. II. REVIEW ANALYSIS Application of the 1996 Distinct Population Segment (DPS) Policy: The Act defines “species” as including any subspecies of fish or wildlife or plants, and any DPS of any species of vertebrate wildlife. This definition of species under the Act limits listing as a DPS to species of vertebrate fish or wildlife. The 1996 Policy Regarding the Recognition of Distinct Vertebrate Population Segments under the Endangered Species Act (USFWS 1996, p. 4722) clarifies the interpretation of the phrase “distinct population segment” for the purposes of listing, delisting, and reclassifying species under the Act. 4 2012 5-year Review for mountain yellow-legged frog The Service listed mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa) in southern California as a DPS in 2002 (USFWS 2002, p. 44382). This determination was based on the geographic isolation of this population in relation to the remainder of the species to which it belongs, the significance of the population segment to the species to which it belongs, and the population’s conservation status in relation to the Act’s standards for listing (USFWS 2002, p. 44384). For additional information regarding this determination please refer to the discussion in the final listing rule (USFWS 2002, p. 44384). Information on the Species and its Status: Much of what was known about the biology of mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa) at the time of listing was based on research focused in the Sierra Nevada. As described below, mountain yellow-legged frogs are now represented by two species (Rana muscosa and Rana sierrae) comprising the mountain yellow-legged frog complex, of which both species are the only members. Therefore, a significant amount of research that took place prior to the taxonomic change in 2007 (Vredenburg et al. 2007, p. 361) now applies to a different species. However, because both species remain in the mountain yellow-legged frog complex, we continue to consider much of this research applicable to the following discussion, although species- specific details are noted where possible. For the purposes of this review, the listed entity will hereafter be referred to as southern R. muscosa. Any reference to the populations of R. muscosa that persist in isolation from the listed entity in the Sierra Nevada will be of northern R. muscosa. Any reference to the newly described species, which occupies the northern and central Sierra Nevada, will be of R. sierrae. Details related to the biology of all mountain yellow-legged frogs will be discussed as such.