Assessment Results
Natalobatrachus bonebergi
Boneberg's Frog, Natal Diving Frog
Order:
Anura
Family:
Pyxicephalidae
Synonym(s):
Assessed for:
South Africa
on:
24 May 2024
by:
AArk/ASG Southern Africa Workshop
Authors:
Jeanne Tarrant, Adrian Armstrong, Werner Conradie, Louis du Preez, Adriann Jordaan, James Harvey, and Joshua Weeber
IUCN Global Red List:
Endangered (EN)
National Red List:
(not assessed)
Distribution:
South Africa
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
22.90939788
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) | |
| 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 - 50 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | Ranges from Manubi State Forest Reserve (Venter and Conradie 2015) in the Eastern Cape Province, to southern and central KwaZulu-Natal Province. It is restricted to lowland riparian forest patches within this range. It occurs in several protected areas, including Vernon Crookes, Oribi Gorge, Krantzloof, Umtamvuna, and Umbumbazi Nature Reserves and at Crowned Eagle Conservancy, Springside Nature Reserve and Tanglewood Nature Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal. In the Eastern Cape, it occurs within Dwesa-Cwebe Nature Reserve. It has more recently been confirmed at Silaka Nature Reserve, Hluleka Nature Reserve and Manubi State Forest. |
| 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 | A monitoring protocol has been implemented at several sites to count egg clumps to provide information on local abundance and breeding success. |
| 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 | Improvement of the management in the protected areas where the species occurs would be important, together with additional habitat and headwater protection. A priority for conservation research is to estimate the population size of adults in each subpopulation, as well as determining the cause of direct threats. Further elucidating the effect of ongoing threats on the species could inform conservation action. |
| 9 | In situ research | Is additional in situ research required to better understand the species, e.g. distribution, population trends, natural history etc.? | Yes | Further studies on its population size, distribution and trends, life history, and ecology are needed. Additional surveys are needed at sites where the species presence is uncertain. |
| 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 being managed - conservation dependant | Needs vegetation around streams. Threats include habitat loss due to conversion of sugarcane and macadamia plantations, encroachment into national parks due to increasing human population, trampling of habitat by cows, pollution in streams from agrochemicals (people also wash their clothes in the streams, introducing harmful chemicals), sewage and siltation from agriculture and urban development, and limestone mining. Crops like sugarcane drain water from habitats. |
| 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 | Common in suitable habitat. |
| 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.) | No / unlikely | |
| 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 | This is a monotypic species with very specific parental care behavior. There wouldn't likely be a good candidate for an analog. |
| 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? | Not held in captivity to date | |
| 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 | Species is monotypic and the female guards eggs. However, it is not likely to be interesting enough for the general public. |
| 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:
Jeanne Tarrant, Adrian Armstrong, Werner Conradie, Louis du Preez, Adriann Jordaan, James Harvey, and Joshua Weeber 2024. Conservation Needs Assessment for Natalobatrachus bonebergi, South Africa
(AArk/ASG Southern Africa Workshop).
https://conservationneeds.org/assessment/7001
Accessed 30 Jan 2025
