Ranas

Population Declines and Priorities for Amphibian Conservation in Latin America Source: Conservation Biology, Vol. 15, No. 5, (Oct., 2001), pp. 1213-1223 Published by: Blackwell Publishing for Society for Conservation Biology Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3061476 Accessed: 11/04/2008 14:17
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Reviews

Population Declines
Conservation in
BRUCE E. YOUNG,*tttt

and

Priorities
America

for

Amphibian

LatinKAREN R. LIPS,t JAMIE K. REASER,t ROBERTO IBANEZ,?

ANTONIO W. SALAS,** ROGELIO CEDENO,tt LUIS A. COLOMA,#t J. SANTIAGO RON,:I ENRIQUE LA MARCA,??JOHN R. MEYER,*** ANTONIO
MUNOZ,ttt FEDERICO BOLANOS,#tt GERARDO CHAVES,#tt AND DAVID ROMO???
*The Association for Biodiversity Information, 1101 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington VA 22209, U.S.A. tDepartment of Zoology, Southern Illinois University,Carbondale, IL 62901-6501, U.S.A.

tOffice of Ecology and TerrestrialConservation, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20520, U.S.A.
?Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 2072, Balboa, Panama **Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Ricardo Palma, Avenida Benavides, cuadra 54, sin nuimero, Lima - 33, Peru

ttEl Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Apartado Postal 424, C6digo Postal 77000,Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico del ttPontificia Universidad Cat6olica Ecuador, Museo de Zoologia, Avenida 12 de Octubre y Roca, Apartado 1701-2184, Quito, Ecuador

??Laboratoriode Biogeografia, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y Ambientales, Universidad de los Andes, Merida
5101-A, Venezuela ***Navajo Natural Heritage Program, P.O. Box 1480, Window Rock, AZ 86515, U.S.A.

tttEl Colegio de laFrontera Sur,Apartado Postal 63, CarreteraPanamericanay Periferico Sur, sin numero, 29200
San Crist6bal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico tttEscuela de Biologia, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica

???Colegiode Ciencias Ambientales, UniversidadSan Franciscode Quito, CasillaPostal 17-12-841,Quito, Ecuador

Abstract:

Although

dramatic

amphibian

population

declineshave been reported worldwide,

our under-

standing of the extent of the declines in Latin America, where amphibian diversity is high, is limited to a few well-documented studies. To better understand the geographic extent of declines, their possible causes, and the measures needed to improve Latin American scientists' ability to research the phenomenon and make effective managementrecommendations, we convened three regional workshops with 88 Latin American herpetologists and conservationists. Population declines are widespread in Latin America. At least 13 countries have experienced declines, and in 40 cases species are now thought to be extinct or extirpated in a country where they once occurred. Declines or extinctions have affected 30 genera and nine families of amphibians. Most...