362 C. Azat et al.


Administration is responsible for implementing the strategy. Once signed by the environment authorities of both coun- tries, the strategy will facilitate interdisciplinary and inter- national working amongst public agencies. Another area in which both countries can take action involves animal health departments,with the enforcement of amphibian import reg- ulations and the implementation of biosecurity protocols aimed at limiting the spread of B. dendrobatidis (and other invasive species) both at national and local levels (Valenzuela-Sánchez et al., 2018; Bacigalupe et al., 2019). Official recognition of the strategy is also relevant for estab- lishing nation-wide conservation education programmes. Improving the public’s knowledge of and attitudes towards Darwin’s frogs will be critical to achieve the strategy’sobjec- tives (Márquez-García et al., 2018).


Future research


Studies on population trends and threats to R. darwinii in Argentina are lacking and little is known about the genetic diversity of Rhinoderma. There have been no genetic studies of R. rufum and limited information is available for R. darwinii (Crump & Veloso, 2005). A characterization of the genetic structure of Rhinoderma spp. across their range would inform in situ management and assessment of potential reintroductions using captive-bred animals (IUCN, 2013). Other critical investigations include improving our un-


derstanding of two knownmajor threats: amphibian chytrid- iomycosis and climate change (Soto-Azat et al., 2013b; Uribe-Rivera et al., 2017). For R. darwinii, research is under- way to assess mitigation actions addressing infections with B. dendrobatidis (Ranita de Darwin, 2020b). Besides phe- notypic plasticity, amphibians have two options to deal with climate change: evolutionary adaptation and dispersal (Uribe-Rivera et al., 2017). Noinformation exists concerning evolutionary or phenotypic responses to rapid and ongoing climate change (IPCC, 2014); studies addressing this issue will allow us to predict, and potentially mitigate, the impacts of climate change on Rhinoderma.


Conclusions


The Binational Conservation Strategy for Darwin’s Frogs is the first conservation strategy exclusively dedicated to am- phibians at the species level in both Chile and Argentina. It provides an informative case study of a comprehensive programme for iconic, yet under-appreciated, fauna and an example of how small ectothermic animals can become flagship species for conservation, a role usually assigned to larger charismatic mammals. The development of the strat- egy is a constructive example of stakeholders, including local communities and industry, working together to generate a


robust instrument to combat the amphibian extinction cri- sis. This multi-disciplinary conservation planning initia- tive is an effort to coordinate existing work in Chile and Argentina and to catalyse further conservation actions based on scientific evidence. Successful implementation of the strategy will help to ensure the long-term viability of these unique frogs and, by extension, of their habitat, the Austral temperate forest.


Acknowledgements We thank Zoo Leipzig, Huilo Huilo Foundation, Universidad Andres Bello, Fundación MERI, Forestal Arauco, Darwin Vineyards and Cerveza Tropera for financial support for the development of the Binational Conservation Strategy for Darwin’s Frogs, and Anne Baker (Amphibian Ark) for her support with the preparation of facilitation materials. CA and AV-S are sup- ported by Fondecyt grants no. 1181758 and 3180107, respectively.


Author contributions Writing: CA, AV-S, AAC; revision: all authors.


Conflict of interests None.


Ethical standards This work abided by the Oryx guidelines on ethical standards.


References


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Oryx, 2021, 55(3), 356–363 © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605319001236


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