title: Population Declines of Mountain Coqui (Eleutherodactylus portoricensis) in the Cordillera Central of Puerto Rico.
abstract: The Mountain Coqui (Eleutherodactylus portoricensis) is a frog endemic to montane rainforests in the Cordillera Central and Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico. Classified as endangered by the IUCN Red List and as vulnerable by the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources of Puerto Rico, this species has undergone considerable decline in the Luquillo Mountains. To evaluate the population status ofE. portoricensisacross its entire range, we conducted ~87 hours of surveys at 18 historical localities and 25 additional localities that we considered suitable for this species. We generated occupancy models to estimate the probability of occurrence at surveyed sites and to identify geographic and climatic factors affecting site occupancy. We also constructed a suitability map to visualize population status in relation to the presence of land cover at elevations where the species has been documented, and determined the dates when populations were last detected at historical localities.Eleutherodactylus portoricensiswas detected at 14 of 43 localities, including 10 of 18 historical localities, but it was not detected at any localities west of Aibonito (western Cordillera Central). Occupancy models estimated the probability of occurrence for localities in the western Cordillera Central as zero. Site occupancy was positively associated with montane cloud forest, and negatively associated with the western Cordillera Central, maximum temperature, and precipitation seasonality. The suitability map suggests that declines have occurred despite the presence of suitable habitat. We suggest upgrading the extinction risk ofE. portoricensisand potentially developing a captive breeding program for this species.
authors: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA ; Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, USA.
authors: Brittany S
authors: BS
authors: Barker
authors: Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 00681, USA ; Department of Natural Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, Utuado, Puerto Rico 00641, USA.
authors: Alejandro
authors: A
authors: Ríos-Franceschi
keywords: Cordillera Central; Eleutherodactylus portoricensis; Mountain Coqui; Puerto Rico; decline; extirpation; population status