Distribution, encounter rate and conservation status of Aquiloeurycea cafetalera (Caudata: Plethodontidae), a recently described Mexican salamander
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-9079.v16i2p211-224Keywords:
Coffee Grove Salamander, ecology, Mexico, natural history, Neotropics.Abstract
The knowledge of the natural history of a species, its population traits and spatial distribution are essential to evaluate its risk of extinction and proposing strategies for its conservation. For poorly studied species inhabiting regions with a high degree of habitat conversion by anthropogenic activities, it is even more urgent to obtain this information. In this study, we carried out fieldwork and database analyses to obtain information on the ecology, natural history and spatial distribution of the plethodontid salamander Aquiloeurycea cafetalera, and we evaluated its conservation status according to the IUCN and the Mexican environmental agency (SEMARNAT). We found 109 individuals in 20 of the 43 localities visited (sampling effort = 1,174 person-hours). The salamander counts ranged from one to 21 individuals per locality and the average encounter rate was 21 salamanders per 100 person-hours of surveying, within a range from 2 to 117 salamanders. The current potential distribution calculated is about 2,000 km2 and fragmented, which means less than half of its original potential distribution. Our results suggest that it is necessary to include this species in biodiversity conservation programs because only a very small portion of its spatial distribution falls within natural protected areas.Downloads
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Published
2017-12-21
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All material originally published in Phyllomedusa belongs to Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz - Universidade de São Paulo. All contents are under a license of Creative Commons BY-NC-ND.How to Cite
Aguilar-López, J. L., Sandoval-Comte, A., & Pineda, E. (2017). Distribution, encounter rate and conservation status of Aquiloeurycea cafetalera (Caudata: Plethodontidae), a recently described Mexican salamander. Phyllomedusa: Journal of Herpetology, 16(2), 211-224. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-9079.v16i2p211-224