Assessment Results
Lithobates vibicarius
Green-eyed Frog, Rancho Redondo Frog
Order:
Anura
Family:
Ranidae
Synonym(s):
Rana vibicaria
Assessed for:
Costa Rica
on:
18 Mar 2020
by:
AArk/ASG Assessment Workshop
IUCN Global Red List:
Endangered (EN)
National Red List:
(not assessed)
Distribution:
Costa Rica, Panama
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
16.68744
Recommended Conservation Actions:
Additional Comments:
| Question # | Short Name | Question Text | Response | Comments |
| 1 | Extinction risk | Current IUCN Red List category. [Data obtained from the IUCN Red List.] | Endangered (EN) | Total population less than 2,500 individuals with less than 250 individuals in each population. |
| 2 | Possibly extinct | Is there a strong possibility that this species might be extinct in the wild? | No / unlikely | |
| 3 | Phylogenetic significance | The taxon’s Evolutionary Distinctiveness (ED) score, as generated by the ZSL EDGE program. (These data are not editable by Assessors). | ED value < 20 | |
| 4 | Protected habitat | Is a population of at least 50% of the individuals of the taxon included within a well-managed or reliably protected area or areas? | Yes / probably | This species was previously widely distributed in the Cordillera de Tilarán, Cordillera Central, and Cordillera de Talamanca of Costa Rica and western Panama (Savage 2002). It is now known with certainty from (1) near Monteverde, (2) sites within the Cordillera Central (Parque Nacional Juan Castro Blanco and Cerro Chompipe), and Chumacera, Pérez Zeledón, in Costa Rica (Castro-Cruz and García-Fernandez 2012; G. Chaves unpubl. data March 2013); and 3) two sites in Parque Nacional Volcán Barú in Panama (M. Ponce and A. Batista pers. comm. August 2019). |
| 5 | Habitat for reintroduction, conservation translocation or supplementation | Does enough well-managed and reliably protected habitat exist, either within or outside of currently protected areas that is suitable for conservation translocation, including population restoration or conservation introduction? | Yes / probably | It is a semi-aquatic frog occurring in lower montane and lower portions of montane rainforest. The species prefers dense canopy, but may also be found near bodies of water in clearings or pastures. Bosque Eterno de Los Niños at Monteverde, Reserva San Ramón and Reserva Biológica Santa Elena, all of them nearby, and Parque Nacional Juan Castro Blanco, Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo. |
| 6 | Previous reintroductions | Have reintroduction or translocation attempts been made in the past for this species? | No | |
| 7 | In situ conservation activities | Are any in situ conservation actions currently in place for this species? (Only required if a Red List Assessment has not been completed, or if new actions have been implemented since the last Red List Assessment. (Information from the Conservation Actions section of the Red List assessment should be reviewed and considered when answering this question.). | Yes / probably | Comprehensive management of the protected areas where it inhabit There is an on-going in situ capture-recapture monitoring program in PN Juan Castro Blanco. |
| 8 | In situ conservation activities | Are additional in situ conservation actions required to help conserve this species in the wild (e.g. habitat restoration and/or protection, control of invasive species, national legislation etc.)? | Yes / probably | More protection is recommended for Chumacera population, which is the currently unprotected extant population (CR workshop 2019) |
| 9 | In situ research | Is additional in situ research required to better understand the species, e.g. distribution, population trends, natural history etc.? | Yes | The current status of the surviving subpopulations requires further investigation and monitoring, as well as the potential impact of chytrid fungus on them; given the possibility of a chytridiomycosis outbreak. Studies on the population with limb deformities from PN Juan Castro Blanco |
| 10 | Threat mitigation | Are the threats facing the taxon, including any new and emerging threats not considered in the IUCN Red List, potentially reversible? | Threats are likely to be reversible in time frame to prevent further decline / extinction | Chytrid fungus has been confirmed both in this species and its range (Lips 2003, Puschendorf et al. 2009, Jimenez et al. 2019), and in some areas high infection loads have been found (Whitfield et al. 2017). Testing of museum specimens revealed 48% prevalence (17/37 individuals) - De Leon et al. in press. Ranavirus has been detected in this species in Bosque Eterno de los Niños (S. Whitfield pers. comm. Sept 2019). This species appears to have undergone historical dramatic declines across Costa Rica, including disappearances within undisturbed habitat, which has been associated with chytridiomycosis as observed in many other montane, water-associated species across Mesoamerica. Climate change or the synergistic effects of multiple factors could have played an additional role in the declines (Costa Rica Red List Assessment Workshop September 2019). The species appears to be recovering in the area around Monteverde and PN Juan Castro Blanco, but the long-term persistence of this species is uncertain because of a potential extreme genetic bottleneck caused by past severe declines (CR Workshop). It remains rare in Tapanti, Cerro Dantas and probably Chumacera (Costa Rica Red List Assessment Workshop September 2019). Habitat loss, due to agriculture, logging, and human settlement is a past and ongoing threat to this species (CR Workshop Sept 2019). Animals from the subpopulation close to the Parque Nacional Juan Castro Blanco have been found with deformities, and there is some suggestion that agricultural chemicals, possibly applied to the grassy vegetation in the area, might be the cause of the deformities and the lack of larvae recently observed in the nearby stream (A. Rojas C. pers. comm. 2008, CR Workshop Sept 2019). This species appears to have undergone rapid, dramatic declines across Costa Rica, including disappearances within undisturbed habitat, which has been associated with chytridiomycosis as observed in many other montane, steam-associated species across Mesoamerica. Climate change or the synergistic effects of multiple factors cannot be ruled out as playing a role in the declines (Costa Rica Red List Assessment Workshop September 2019). This species appears to be recovering in some sites, specifically around Monteverde and Juan Castro Blanco. KELSEY's notes in here It remains rare in Tapantí, Cerro Dantas and probably Chumacera (CR workshop 2019). Habitat loss, due to agriculture, logging, and human settlement is a past and ongoing threat to this species. Animals from the subpopulation close to the Parque Nacional Juan Castro Blanco have been found with deformities, and there is some suggestion that agricultural chemicals, possibly applied to the grassy vegetation in the area, might be the cause of the deformities and the lack of larvae recently observed in the nearby stream (A. Rojas C. pers. comm. 2008, CR workshop Sept 2019). |
| 11 | Over-collection from the wild | Is the taxon suffering from collection within its natural range, either for food, for the pet trade or for any other reason, which threatens the species’ continued persistence in the wild? | No / unlikely | |
| 12 | Population recovery | Is the known population of this species in the wild large enough to recover naturally, without ex situ intervention if threats are mitigated? | Yes / probably | It was once very common in Costa Rica but had apparently disappeared from the country by 1990. However, a single individual was reported in 2002 from near Monteverde, and larvae were found and reared in 2003. One small breeding pool is now known near Monteverde in the Bosque Eterno de los Niños (A. Gray and M. Wainwright in litt. to B. Young September 2007). This subpopulation was reported to be healthy, with several hundred animals, including dozens of breeding pairs, juveniles and egg clutches observed (A. Gray and M. Wainwright in litt. to B. Young). In November 2007, a second subpopulation with dozens of adults was discovered close to the Parque Nacional Juan Castro Blanco in Costa Rica, at 1,984 m asl (Castro-Cruz and García-Fernández 2012), which has been observed as recently as 2019 (CR Workshop Sept 2019). This species has consistently been recorded in Santa Elena, Bosque Eterno de los Niños in Monteverde, and in San Ramon during 2002-2019 (CR Workshop Sept 2019). In 2010, an additional subpopulation where a handful of adults were found was also located at Chumacera, Pérez Zeledón (G. Chaves unpubl. data March 2013). In 2013, the species was recorded in PN Braulio Carrillo (Alvarado et al. in press). In 2019, tadpoles were observed in PN Tapantí, although additional surveys are required to determine the status of the subpopulation (Gerardo Chaves and Federico Bolaños pers. comm. Sept 2019). |
| 13 | Action plans | Does an Action Plan for the species already exist, or is one currently being developed? | No | |
| 14 | Biological distinctiveness | Does the taxon exhibit a distinctive reproductive mode, behaviour, aspect of morphology or physiology, within the Order to which it belongs (e.g. Anura, Passeriformes etc.)? | No aspect of biology known to be exceptional | |
| 15 | Cultural/socio-economic importance | Does the taxon have a special human cultural value (e.g. as a national or regional symbol, in a historic context, featuring in traditional stories) or economic value (e.g. food, traditional medicine, tourism) within its natural range or in a wider global context? | No | |
| 16 | Scientific importance | Is the species vital to current or planned research other than species-specific ecology/biology/conservation within the Order to which it belongs (e.g. Anura, Passeriformes etc.) e.g. human medicine, climate change, environmental pollutants and conservation science? | No research dependent on this species | |
| 17 | Ex situ research | Does conserving this species (or closely related species) in situ depend upon research that can be most easily carried out ex situ? | No | |
| 18 | Ex situ conservation activities | Is any ex situ research or other ex situ conservation action currently in place for this species? (Information from the Conservation Actions section of the Red List assessment should be reviewed and considered when answering this question.) | Yes / probably | An assurance population is in the process to be established at UCR (G. Alvarado pers. comm. 2019) comprise by 3 adult individuals. There is probably a need to bring specimens from other source population to augment genetic variability. |
| 19 | Husbandry analog required | If an ex situ rescue program is recommended for this species, would an analog species be required to develop husbandry protocols first? | No / unlikely | |
| 20 | Husbandry analog | Do the biological and ecological attributes of this species make it suitable for developing husbandry regimes for more threatened related species? i.e. could this species be used in captivity to help to develop husbandry and breeding protocols which could be used for a similar, but more endangered species at a later stage? | No | |
| 21 | Captive breeding | Has this species been successfully bred and/or maintained in captivity? | Maintained but no successful breeding | University of Costa Rica holds 3 individuals |
| 22 | Conservation education/ecotourism potential | Is the species especially diurnal, active or colourful, or is there an interesting or unusual aspect of its ecology that make it particularly suitable to be an educational ambassador for conservation of the species in the range country, either in zoos or aquariums or within ecotourism activities? | No | |
| 23 | Mandate | Is there an existing conservation mandate recommending the ex situ conservation of this taxon? | No | |
| 24 | Range State approval | If an ex situ initiative was proposed for this species, would it be supported (and approved) by the range State (either within the range State or out-of-country ex situ)? | Yes / probably | |
| 25 | Founder specimens | Are sufficient animals of the taxon available or potentially available (from wild or captive sources) to initiate an ex situ program, if one was recommended? | Yes / probably | |
| 26 | Taxonomic status | Has a complete taxonomic analysis of the species in the wild been carried out, to fully understand the functional unit you wish to conserve (i.e. have species limits been determined)? | Yes |
Citation:
AArk/ASG Assessment Workshop. 2020. Conservation Needs Assessment for Lithobates vibicarius, Costa Rica.
https://conservationneeds.org/assessment/5184
Accessed 30 Jan 2025
