Abstract
Ecuador is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, but faces severe pressures and threats to its natural ecosystems. Numerous species have declined and require to be objectively evaluated and quantified, as a step towards the development of conservation strategies. Herein, we present an updated National Red List Assessment for amphibian species of Ecuador, with one of the most detailed and complete coverages for any Ecuadorian taxonomic group to date. Based on standardized methodologies that integrate taxonomic work, spatial analyses, and ecological niche modeling, we assessed the extinction risk and identified the main threats for all Ecuadorian native amphibians (635 species), using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Our evaluation reveals that 57% (363 species) are categorized as Threatened, 12% (78 species) as Near Threatened, 4% (26 species) as Data Deficient, and 27% (168 species) as Least Concern. Our assessment almost doubles the number of threatened species in comparison with previous evaluations. In addition to habitat loss, the expansion of the agricultural/cattle raising frontier and other anthropogenic threats (roads, human settlements, and mining/oil activities) amplify the incidence of other pressures as relevant predictors of ecological integrity. Potential synergic effects with climate change and emergent diseases (apparently responsible for the sudden declines), had particular importance amongst the threats sustained by Ecuadorian amphibians. Most threatened species are distributed in montane forests and paramo habitats of the Andes, with nearly 10% of them occurring outside the National System of Protected Areas of the Ecuadorian government. Based on our results, we recommend the following actions: (i) An increase of the National System of Protected Areas to include threatened species. (ii) Supporting the ex/in-situ conservation programs to protect species considered like Critically Endangered and Endangered. (iii) Focalizing research efforts towards the description of new species, as well as species currently categorized as Data Deficient (DD) that may turn out to be threatened. The implementation of the described actions is challenging, but urgent, given the current conservation crisis faced by amphibians.
Highlights
One of the main aims of conservation biology is to assess, understand, and mitigate threats to biodiversity
Our International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessment resulted in the assignment of a threatened category (CR, EN, VU) to 57% of the Ecuadorian amphibian species, while 12% considered as Near Threatened (NT), 4% as Data Deficient (DD), and 27% as Least Concern (LC) (Fig 2, Table 3)
We report that 57% of the evaluated amphibian species are classified under some extinction risk using the IUCN Red List guidelines (13% Critically Endangered (CR), 23% EN, and 21% VU), with a further 12% falling into the NT category, and 4% listed as DD taxa
Summary
One of the main aims of conservation biology is to assess, understand, and mitigate threats to biodiversity. Red List Assessments are widely used by experts on several groups of plants and animals worldwide, as it applies standardized methods to assess threats and extinction risk, based on relevant quantitative and qualitative criteria [1,2,3]. In addition to presenting an extraordinary richness specific to each ecosystem, they are one of the most threatened taxa [5]. Their ectothermy makes them vulnerable to environmental changes, mainly related to temperature and humidity, and to infectious diseases [6,7,8]. Climate change, and diseases represent important threats to their populations [6, 9,10,11]
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