Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Decline and Extinction of the Italian Agile Frog Rana latastei from Core Areas of Its Range

Gentile Francesco Ficetola
* ORCID logo ,
Raoul Manenti
ORCID logo ,
Elia Lo Parrino
,
Martina Muraro
ORCID logo ,
Benedetta Barzaghi
ORCID logo ,
Valeria Messina
ORCID logo ,
Simone Giachello
,
Andrea Melotto
,
Mattia Falaschi
Version 1 : Received: 2 August 2023 / Approved: 3 August 2023 / Online: 4 August 2023 (12:37:06 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Ficetola, G.F.; Manenti, R.; Lo Parrino, E.; Muraro, M.; Barzaghi, B.; Messina, V.; Giachello, S.; Melotto, A.; Falaschi, M. Decline and Extinction of the Italian Agile Frog Rana latastei from Core Areas of Its Range. Animals 2023, 13, 3187. Ficetola, G.F.; Manenti, R.; Lo Parrino, E.; Muraro, M.; Barzaghi, B.; Messina, V.; Giachello, S.; Melotto, A.; Falaschi, M. Decline and Extinction of the Italian Agile Frog Rana latastei from Core Areas of Its Range. Animals 2023, 13, 3187.

Abstract

Detecting the trends of species and populations is fundamental to identify taxa with high conservation priority. Unfortunately, long-term monitoring programs are challenging and often lacking. The Italian agile frog Rana latastei is endemic to Northern Italy and adjacent countries, is considered vulnerable by the IUCN, and is protected at the European level. However, quantitative estimates of its decline are extremely scarce. In this study, we document the trends in abundance and distribution of Rana latastei within the Monza Park, which currently represents the area closer to the type locality of the species. Wetlands within the park were monitored from 2000 to 2023; counts of egg clutches were taken as a measure of reproductive output and of the abundance of breeding females. In 2000, the species occurred over a significant proportion of the park. Total abundance showed strong yearly variation but remained rather constant from 2000 to 2019. However, Rana latastei disappeared from the park around 2021 and was never detected in 2022-23. The decline is probably related to the joint effect of multiple factors, including the conversion of breeding sites for farming, inappropriate water management, invasive alien species, and severe drought. The local extinction of Rana latastei occurred despite legal protection, highlighting the need for more effective and stringent tools for the conservation of European biodiversity.

Keywords

Global amphibian decline; climate change; drought; invasive alien species; Procambarus clarkii; EU Habitat Directive; amphibian conservation

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Animal Science, Veterinary Science and Zoology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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