Faculty Mentor(s)

Dr. Derek Rosenberger

Dr. Nick Troendle

Project Type

Student Scholarship

Scholarship Domain(s)

Scholarship of Discovery

Presentation Type

Presentation

Abstract

Presentation Location: Warming House, Olivet Nazarene University

Abstract

While a warming climate is responsible for many animal ranges shifting to higher latitudes and elevations, species will be affected in different ways. High elevation species in the tropics are particularly at risk due to shrinking habitat on mountain tops. Craugastor podiciferus is a cryptic species of flesh-bellied frog native to the Talamanca mountain ranges of Costa Rica and Panama. These frogs inhabit montane cloud forests at an elevational range of 1,090 - 2650 meters. However, they are poorly understood and little is known about the natural history of this species. To evaluate the upper elevational range of C. podiciferus, 24 sites were established from 2095 m to 3030 m near San Gerardo de Dota in the Talamanca Mountains of Costa Rica in May 2019. At each site, six 10-meter transects were walked for 10 minutes with surveyors carefully inspecting leaf litter for frogs. Quadrats were established to identify litter insect prey availability at each transect. We found a total of 55 frogs with 9 occurring above 2650 meters. One frog was found at 2777 meters, 112 meters higher than the previous record. Prey availability may contribute to frog distribution. These results indicate a possible elevational range expansion for C. podiciferus as warming temperatures shift optimal temperature bands to higher elevations.

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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Apr 14th, 5:10 PM Apr 14th, 5:25 PM

Changes to the elevational distribution of Craugastor podiciferus in a Costa Rican Cloud Forest

Other

Presentation Location: Warming House, Olivet Nazarene University

Abstract

While a warming climate is responsible for many animal ranges shifting to higher latitudes and elevations, species will be affected in different ways. High elevation species in the tropics are particularly at risk due to shrinking habitat on mountain tops. Craugastor podiciferus is a cryptic species of flesh-bellied frog native to the Talamanca mountain ranges of Costa Rica and Panama. These frogs inhabit montane cloud forests at an elevational range of 1,090 - 2650 meters. However, they are poorly understood and little is known about the natural history of this species. To evaluate the upper elevational range of C. podiciferus, 24 sites were established from 2095 m to 3030 m near San Gerardo de Dota in the Talamanca Mountains of Costa Rica in May 2019. At each site, six 10-meter transects were walked for 10 minutes with surveyors carefully inspecting leaf litter for frogs. Quadrats were established to identify litter insect prey availability at each transect. We found a total of 55 frogs with 9 occurring above 2650 meters. One frog was found at 2777 meters, 112 meters higher than the previous record. Prey availability may contribute to frog distribution. These results indicate a possible elevational range expansion for C. podiciferus as warming temperatures shift optimal temperature bands to higher elevations.