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Endemic Ecuadorian glassfrog Cochranella mache is Critically Endangered because of habitat loss

Abstract:

Amphibians are one of the most threatened animal groups. In the Family Centrolenidae c. 50% of the species are declining and threatened with extinction. One of these is the glassfrog Cochranella mache, endemic to seasonal evergreen forests of the West Ecuadorian region and restricted to highly fragmented forest of < 100 km2 in the Cordillera Mache-Chindul, north-western coastal Ecuador, at 100-640 m. We surveyed this region to elucidate the distribution and conservation status of C. mache. We located it in three new localities and also found a museum specimen from a further new locality. We recommend that the species should be categorized as Critically Endangered because of the continuous and progressive destruction of its increasingly fragmented habitat. Recent surveys of glassfrog species sympatric with C. mache showed low relative abundances compared to surveys in the 1970s and 1980s. Because of the relationship between forest and local climate we suggest that gradual declines of lowland glassfrog populations may be caused by local climate changes produced by forest destruction. In situ conservation is required to halt and mitigate these impacts. Further research on the effects of habitat loss, fragmentation, and associated climate changes on Neotropical amphibians is required. © 2009 Fauna & Flora International.