Newly Discovered Sites and Potential Threats for the Critically Endangered Frog, Alsodes pehuenche, in Southern South America.

CORBALÁN V; DEBANDI G; LITERAS S; ALVAREZ L; RIVERA J; DOPAZO J; A ZARCO; CORNEJO P; BORIS B; FAIVIVICH J; MASIEL D

Herpetological Conservation and Biology

Springer

Año: 2023

1931-7603

Abstract.—The Pehuenche Spiny-chest Frog (Alsodes pehuenche) is a nocturnal aquatic frogthat inhabits small streams and wetlands in the Central Andean Cordillera near the borderbetween Argentina and Chile. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)classified it as Critically Endangered (CR) due to its small extent of occurrence (EOO) andarea of occupancy (AOO), as well as the continuing decline in the number of matureindividuals and habitat quality due to road paving, livestock activities, and nonnativepredatory fish. From March 2017 to February 2020, we conducted 11 d of research duringfive field trips to search for tadpoles and adults on the Argentine side of the border. We usedinformation from local communities and satellite imagery to identify potential habitats. Wefound A. pehuenche individuals in 12 of the 26 sampled streams, which we grouped into threepopulations. These new populations extend the geographic range 6 km to the southeast and19 km to the northeast. This increases the EOO fivefold, from 95 km 2 to 497.9 km 2 .Nevertheless, the AOO remains small, 4.84 km 2 . We found individuals positive for