Conservation status assessment of the amphibians and reptiles of Uruguay

Lucía Ziegler,Melitta Meneghel,Andrés Estrades,José A. Langone,Arley Camargo,Carlos M. Prigioni,Santiago Carreira,Francisco Kolenc,Diego Nuñez,Claudio Borteiro,M. Milagros López-Mendilaharsu,Andrés Canavero,Federico Achaval,Alejandro Fallabrino,Inés da Rosa,Raúl Maneyro

doi:10.1590/s0073-47212010000100001

Abstract

The native species of amphibians and reptiles of Uruguay were categorized according to the IUCN Red List criteria. Out of 47 amphibian species, seven are listed as Critically Endangered (CR), five as Endangered (EN), one as Vulnerable (VU), three as Near Threatened (NT), and two as Data Deficient (DD); the remaining species are considered to be Least Concern (LC). Among the 64 species of reptiles evaluated, one is listed as Critically Endangered (CR), seven as Endangered (EN), two as Vulnerable (VU), one as Near Threatened (NT) and seven as Data Deficient (DD); the rest are considered to be Least Concern (LC). The use of these results as an additional criterion in the definition of protected areas in Uruguay will contribute towards the conservation of the aforementioned threatened species and their associated ecosystems.

Highlights

It was in this context that the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) “Red List of Threatened Species” arose as a tool to help in the rapid assessment and monitoring of the conservation status of biodiversity using all available information (HILTONTAYLOR, 2000)
That interest motivated the publication of several categorization schemes, such as those proposed by ACHAVAL & OLMOS (2007), MANEYRO & LANGONE (2001; amphibians), MORALES FAGUNDES & CARREIRA (2001; snakes), CARREIRA (2004; lizards), and CARREIRA et al (2007, turtles) using the methodology of RECA et al (1994), which has been widely applied in southern South America (GRIGERA & UBEDA, 2000)
A working agenda was set at this meeting, which resulted in the creation of the Red List of Amphibians and Reptiles of Uruguay following the categories and criteria suggested by IUCN (2003, 2006a)

Summary

Introduction

Efforts and decisions regarding conservation are being taken based on a poor knowledge of the biology of species or the functioning of ecosystems, due to the asymmetries between the time required to generate such knowledge against the urgency of particular conservation actions (SOULÉ & ORIANS, 2001; MCCALLUM, 2007) It was in this context that the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) “Red List of Threatened Species” arose as a tool to help in the rapid assessment and monitoring of the conservation status of biodiversity using all available information (HILTONTAYLOR, 2000). With the participation of the IUCN Uruguayan Committee, two biodiversity groups were created to bring together the researchers working locally on each zoological group: Amphibia and Reptilia Each of these working groups proposed initiatives to complete the categorization of both taxonomic groups at a regional (national) level using the IUCN criteria. A working agenda was set at this meeting, which resulted in the creation of the Red List of Amphibians and Reptiles of Uruguay following the categories and criteria suggested by IUCN (2003, 2006a)

Objectives

Methods

Results