Title
Long-term monitoring of tropical alpine habitat change, Andean anurans, and chytrid fungus in the Cordillera Vilcanota, Peru: Results from a decade of study
Date Issued
01 March 2017
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Seimon T.
Seimon A.
Yager K.
Reider K.
Sowell P.
Tupayachi A.
Konecky B.
McAloose D.
Halloy S.
Publisher(s)
John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Abstract
The Cordillera Vilcanota in southern Peru is the second largest glacierized range in the tropics and home to one of the largest high-alpine lakes, Sibinacocha (4,860 m). Here, Telmatobius marmoratus (marbled water frog), Rhinella spinulosa (Andean toad), and Pleurodema marmoratum (marbled four-eyed frog) have expanded their range vertically within the past century to inhabit newly formed ponds created by ongoing deglaciation. These anuran populations, geographically among the highest (5,200–5,400 m) recorded globally, are being impacted by the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), and the disease it causes, chytridiomycosis. In this study, we report results from over a decade of monitoring these three anuran species, their habitat, and Bd infection status. Our observations reveal dynamic changes in habitat including ongoing rapid deglaciation (18.4 m/year widening of a corridor between retreating glaciers from 2005 to 2015), new pond formation, changes in vegetation in amphibian habitat, and widespread occurrence of Bd in amphibians in seven sites. Three of these sites have tested positive for Bd over a 9- to 12-year period. In addition, we observed a widespread reduction in T. marmoratus encounters in the Vilcanota in 2008, 2009, and 2012, while encounters increased in 2013 and 2015. Despite the rapid and dynamic changes in habitat under a warming climate, continued presence of Bd in the environment for over a decade, and a reduction in one of three anuran species, we document that these anurans continue to breed and survive in this high Andean environment. High variability in anuran encounters across sites and plasticity in these populations across habitats, sites, and years are all factors that could favor repopulation postdecline. Preserving the connectivity of wetlands in the Cordillera Vilcanota is therefore essential in ensuring that anurans continue to breed and adapt as climate change continues to reshape the environment.
Start page
1527
End page
1540
Volume
7
Issue
5
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ecología
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85012272878
Source
Ecology and Evolution
ISSN of the container
20457758
Sponsor(s)
We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of our local arriero support teams, particularly Severino Crispin Huanca, Felipe Crispin Condori, Elias Crispin Condori, and David Crispin Condori. Mariana Montoya, Patricia Mendoza, Yovana Murillo, Armando Mercado, and Carlos Zariquiey of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Peru country program, and Joey Rosario from the Wildlife Health and Health Policy program, assisted in procuring collection permits, export permits, and transport of samples. We thank Tamsyn Seimon and Sarah Olson for providing comments and editing the manuscript and Aleyda Curo, Baker Perry, Giovanni Estrada, Stacy Schulte, Kyle Lapp, and Jon Webb for field assistance. Access to the SENAMHI database was provided courtesy of the Programa de Adaptación al Cambio Climático (PACC PERÚ). This study was supported in part by contributions from the Weissman Family Foundation, the Justin Brooks Fisher Foundation, Peter A. Geiser, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC:https://www.eda.admin.ch/sdc) through the CIMA Project conducted by CONDESAN (Grant no. DDC/CG/CC/CONDESAN PA0042-C011-0031 7F-07991.01) and ALARM (Assessing LArge-scale Risks for biodiversity with tested Methods, EU-FP6). This study was made possible thanks to the authorization and research permits granted by the Forestry and Wildlife Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Perú (SERFOR, Servicio Nacional Forestal y de Fauna Silvestre): No. 0183-2012-AG-DGFFS-DGEFFS and No. 0064-2015-SERFOR-DGGPFFS.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus