A retrospective overview of amphibian declines in Brazil's Atlantic Forest. (January 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Toledo, Luís Felipe; de Carvalho-e-Silva, Sergio Potsch; de Carvalho-e-Silva, Ana Maria Paulino Telles; Gasparini, João Luiz; Baêta, Délio; Rebouças, Raoni; Haddad, Célio F.B.; Becker, C. Guilherme; Carvalho, Tamilie
• Is Part Of: Biological conservation. Volume 277(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-01
• Subjects: 6th mass extinction -- Amphibian declines -- Atlantic forest -- Conservation -- Disease outbreaks -- Ghosts of the past -- Lazarus effect -- Population recovery; Conservation of natural resources -- Periodicals; Nature conservation -- Periodicals; Ecology -- Periodicals; Environment -- Periodicals; Environmental Pollution -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 333.9516
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109845
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0006-3207

Abstract

Abstract: Amphibians are facing population declines and extinctions across the globe, and megadiverse Brazil is no exception. One of the global hotspots of amphibian declines is Brazil's Atlantic Forest (AF), an ecoregion that in the past covered over 1, 300, 000 km 2 of luxuriant coastal rainforests. Reports of historical declines were concentrated in the southern and southeastern sections of AF, however we now propose that these reports did not capture the whole extent and complexity of historical amphibian declines. Here, we conducted a refined review of historical amphibian declines that have been linked to environmental factors, climatic anomalies, and the emergence of the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). We reviewed data on 169 populations of 106 species that have undergone population declines in the southern and southeastern Atlantic Forest, more than doubling the number of population declines reported in previous studies. These numbers place the Atlantic Forest among the ecoregions with the highest rates of amphibian declines and extinctions globally. We provide novel spatiotemporal information of amphibian declines, underscoring that the peak of declines happened in 1979, and that population recoveries, when they occurred, often took over 30 years. Our analyses indicate that the volume of field collections accessioned in museums over time matched temporal patterns of declines and extinctions, which indicates that historical declines might have impacted a far larger number of amphibian populations and species. Our review helps guide targeted management programs for amphibian surveys and Bd surveillance with practical implications for conservation. Highlights: Brazil's Atlantic Forest is the place on Earth with the highest number of amphibian population declines ever reported. The number of declines reported in the present study roughly doubles previous estimates. The peak of amphibian declines was in 1979. Declined populations took 21 years in mean to recover. Museum records supports a large-scale amphibian die-off in the Atlantic Forest.