Diversity, structure and natural history of amphibians in the upper Claro River basin, a buffer zone of the National Natural Park Los Nevados, Central Cordillera of Colombia

• Main Authors: Julián Andrés Rojas-Morales, Mateo Marín-Martínez
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wildlife Information Liaison Development Society 2019-02-01
• Series: Journal of Threatened Taxa
• Subjects: andean landscapes; diversity; endemic species; threatened amphibians
• Online Access: https://www.threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/4075

We present an assessment on composition, diversity and structure of amphibians in three zones along an elevation gradient (2,400–3,000 m) in the Central Cordillera of Colombia.  For this purpose, we carried out two field trips in November 2014 and February 2015, covering rainy and dry seasons, respectively.  Diurnal (08:00–12:00 h) and nocturnal (18:00–22:00 h) visual encounter surveys were made without spatial restrictions.  The diversity for each zone (alpha) and for the entire landscape (gamma) was evaluated by the effective number of species, and the structure of the communities was analyzed by range-abundance curves.  The inequality factor for each of the sampling zones was also calculated.  A total of 15 species belonging to seven genera and three families were recorded, all of the order Anura.  Craugastoridae with 11 species (73.3% of richness) and Pristimantis (eight species) were the most diverse family and genus, respectively.  The average alpha diversity per zone was 6.6 effective species, with zone A being the most diverse with eight species.  In terms of beta diversity we found 2.5 effective communities at the landscape level, and differences between zones are given by the rare species, while the most abundant ones (e.g., Pristimantis uranobates) are shared between them.  It is presumed that the greater diversity of zone A is due to the lower elevation and better state of conservation if compared to the other two zones.  Of the total species recorded, three are threatened with extinction: Endangered (Hypodactylus latens, Osornophryne percrassa), and Critically Endangered (Niceforonia adenobrachia).  The finding of three yet undescribed species is highlighted.