Spatial and temporal variation in population dynamics of Andean frogs: Effects of forest disturbance and evidence for declines

AbstractBiodiversity loss is a global phenomenon that can result in the collapse of food webs and critical ecosystem services. Amphibian population decline over the last century is a notable case of species loss because amphibians survived the last four major extinction events in global history, their current rate of extinction is unprecedented, and their rate of extinction is greater than that for most other taxonomic groups. Despite the severity of this conservation problem and its relevance to the study of global biodiversity loss, major knowledge gaps remain for many of the most threatened species and regions in the world. Rigorous estimates of population parameters are lacking for many amphibian species in the Neotropics. The goal of our study was to determine how the demography of seven species of the genus Pristimantis varied over time and space in two cloud forests in the Ecuadorian Andes. We completed a long term capture–mark–recapture study to estimate abundance, survival, and population growth rates in two cloud forests in the Ecuadorian Andes; from 2002 to 2009 at Yanayacu in the Eastern Cordillera and from 2002 to 2003 at Cashca Totoras in the Western Cordillera. Our results showed seasonal and annual variation in population parameters by species and sex. P. bicantus experienced significant reductions in abundance over the course of our study. Abundance, apparent survival, and population growth rates were lower in disturbed than in primary or mature secondary forest. The results of our study raise concerns for the population status of understudied amphibian groups and provide insights into the population dynamics of Neotropical amphibians

Post‐epizootic microbiome associations across communities of neotropical amphibians

Microbiome–pathogen interactions are increasingly recognized as an important element of host immunity. While these host-level interactions will have consequences for community disease dynamics, the factors which influence host microbiomes at larger scales are poorly understood. We here describe landscape-scale pathogen–microbiome associations within the context of post-epizootic amphibian chytridiomycosis, a disease caused by the panzootic chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. We undertook a survey of Neotropical amphibians across altitudinal gradients in Ecuador ~30 years following the observed amphibian declines and collected skin swab-samples which were metabarcoded using both fungal (ITS-2) and bacterial (r16S) amplicons. The data revealed marked variation in patterns of both B. dendrobatidis infection and microbiome structure that are associated with host life history. Stream breeding amphibians were most likely to be infected with B. dendrobatidis. This increased probability of infection was further associated with increased abundance and diversity of non-Batrachochytrium chytrid fungi in the skin and environmental microbiome. We also show that increased alpha diversity and the relative abundance of fungi are lower in the skin microbiome of adult stream amphibians compared to adult pond-breeding amphibians, an association not seen for bacteria. Finally, stream tadpoles exhibit lower proportions of predicted protective microbial taxa than pond tadpoles, suggesting reduced biotic resistance. Our analyses show that host breeding ecology strongly shapes pathogen–microbiome associations at a landscape scale, a trait that may influence resilience in the face of emerging infectious diseases.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Rediscovery of the Endangered Carchi Andean Toad, Rhaebo colomai (Hoogmoed, 1985), in Ecuador, with comments on its conservation status and extinction risk

Since 1984 there have been no records of Rhaebo colomai (Hoogmoed, 1985) within the territory of Ecuador. This species was known from 2 localities in the province of Carchi, northwestern Ecuador, and the department of Nari��o, southwestern Colombia, which were reported in 1979 and 2015, respectively. We report the recent sightings of R. colomai at 3 new localities in Ecuador and discuss and evaluate this species��� extinction risk and conservation status

5to. Congreso Internacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación para la Sociedad. Memoria académica

El V Congreso Internacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación para la Sociedad, CITIS 2019, realizado del 6 al 8 de febrero de 2019 y organizado por la Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, ofreció a la comunidad académica nacional e internacional una plataforma de comunicación unificada, dirigida a cubrir los problemas teóricos y prácticos de mayor impacto en la sociedad moderna desde la ingeniería. En esta edición, dedicada a los 25 años de vida de la UPS, los ejes temáticos estuvieron relacionados con la aplicación de la ciencia, el desarrollo tecnológico y la innovación en cinco pilares fundamentales de nuestra sociedad: la industria, la movilidad, la sostenibilidad ambiental, la información y las telecomunicaciones. El comité científico estuvo conformado formado por 48 investigadores procedentes de diez países: España, Reino Unido, Italia, Bélgica, México, Venezuela, Colombia, Brasil, Estados Unidos y Ecuador. Fueron recibidas un centenar de contribuciones, de las cuales 39 fueron aprobadas en forma de ponencias y 15 en formato poster. Estas contribuciones fueron presentadas de forma oral ante toda la comunidad académica que se dio cita en el Congreso, quienes desde el aula magna, el auditorio y la sala de usos múltiples de la Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, cumplieron respetuosamente la responsabilidad de representar a toda la sociedad en la revisión, aceptación y validación del conocimiento nuevo que fue presentado en cada exposición por los investigadores. Paralelo a las sesiones técnicas, el Congreso contó con espacios de presentación de posters científicos y cinco workshops en temáticas de vanguardia que cautivaron la atención de nuestros docentes y estudiantes. También en el marco del evento se impartieron un total de ocho conferencias magistrales en temas tan actuales como la gestión del conocimiento en la universidad-ecosistema, los retos y oportunidades de la industria 4.0, los avances de la investigación básica y aplicada en mecatrónica para el estudio de robots de nueva generación, la optimización en ingeniería con técnicas multi-objetivo, el desarrollo de las redes avanzadas en Latinoamérica y los mundos, la contaminación del aire debido al tránsito vehicular, el radón y los riesgos que representa este gas radiactivo para la salud humana, entre otros

Catalogue of type specimens deposited in the Herpetology Collection of the Natural History Museum Gustavo Orcés V. at Escuela Politécnica Nacional (Ecuador)

The Herpetology Collection of the Natural History Museum Gustavo Orcés V. at Escuela Politécnica Nacional (MEPN-H) in Quito maintains more than sixteen thousand curated specimens and it comprises Ecuador ́s second largest collection of herps.The Collection contains 193 type specimens: 14 holotypes, 34 paratopotypes and 145 paratypes, which correspond to 10 families, 17 genera and 32 species. The collection of type specimens is particularly important in the genera Atelopus and Pristimantis in amphibians and the genera Atractus and Enyaloides in reptiles. An assessment of the geographic distribution showed that collection sites of type specimens are clustered towards the south of Ecuador in the provinces of Zamora Chinchipe, Morona Santiago and Pastaza in the Amazon Region; and in the provinces of Carchi and Azuay in the Andes. The collection of type specimens dates from 1955 to 2013, comprising an invaluable source of historical biodiversity data

A new treefrog from Cordillera del C\uf3ndor with comments on the biogeographic affinity between Cordillera del C\uf3ndor and the Guianan Tepuis (Anura, Hylidae, Hyloscirtus)

Volume: 809Start Page: 97End Page: 12

Molecular phylogenetics of stream treefrogs of the Hyloscirtus larinopygion group (Anura: Hylidae), and description of two new species from Ecuador

We review the systematics of frogs of the Hyloscirtus larinopygion group. A new phylogenetic tree inferred from mitochondrial DNA (partial sequences of 12S rRNA, valine-tRNA, and 16S rRNA genes; ∼2.3 kb) of eleven species of the H. larinopygion group is provided, based on maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian analyses. Our phylogeny confirms the close relationship of members of the H. larinopygion group with Andean relatives of the H. armatus group, which also occurs in the Andes. Hyloscirtus tapichalaca is placed as sister species to the rest of the H. larinopygion group, in which two clades (A+B) are evident. Although ingroup relationships are well supported, the monophyly of the H. larinopygion group and placement of H. tapichalaca require additional testing. Genetic divergences among species of the H. larinopygion group are shallow compared to those observed in many other anurans, with genetic distance among sister species (H. princecharlesi and H. ptychodactylus) as low as 1.31%. However, this pattern is concordant with radiations in other highland Andean lineages of anurans that show marked morphological or behavioral differentiation, but low divergence in mitochondrial markers. Divergence-time analyses (using BEAST) indicate that the Hyloscirtus clade is a relatively ancient lineage that appeared in the Eocene, at a minimum age of 51.2 million years ago (MYA), while the H. larinopygion group originated in the Middle-Late Eocene at a minimum age of 40.9 MYA. Our results might suggest a rapid radiation of Hyloscirtus starting in the Miocene into the Pliocene, from at least 14.2 MYA to the most recent divergence between sister taxa at ∼2.6 MYA. We also describe two sympatric new species of Hyloscirtus from northwestern Ecuador: H. criptico sp. nov. and H. princecharlesi sp. nov. We diagnose them by their phylogenetic position (they are not sister to each other), genetic divergence, and a unique combination of color patterns, and other morphological features. Additionally, we describe the suctorial tadpoles and the extreme ontogenic color changes in H. larinopygion, H. lindae, H. pantostictus, H. princecharlesi, H. psarolaimus, and H. tigrinus. Furthermore, we describe the osteology of H. criptico, H. lindae, H. pacha, H. pantostictus, H. princecharlesi, H. psarolaimus, H. ptychodactylus, and H. staufferorum. We describe vocalizations of H. lindae, H. pacha, H. pantostictus, H. pasarolaimus, H. staufferorum, and H. tapichalaca. Hyloscirtus tigrinus is recorded for the first time in Ecuador and its range is extended 62.4 km (airline distance), from its southernmost locality record in Departamento de Nariño, Colombia. Most species of the H. larinopygion group are currently severely threatened by extinction, after surviving the catastrophic extinctions in the 1980s and 1990s that led to the disappearance of many other sympatric anurans that bred in swiftly flowing water and had lotic water tadpoles in the Andean highlands. Research and conservation actions are urgently needed for these species. In order to better call attention to these conservation issues, we name one of the new species in honor of Prince Charles of Wa l e s, who is contributing significantly to the growth of awareness in the battle against tropical deforestation, climate change, and the catastrophic extinction of rainforest amphibians. Copyright © 2012 · Magnolia Press