The Endangered Barrio’s frog in Chile 51


PLATE 1 (a) Signing of a voluntary land conservation agreement between the landowner (co-author SM) and the NGO Ranita de Darwin for the creation of the protected area Refugio de Ranitas Aldea del Viento, Los Pellines, Valdivia, Chile. (b) An adult Barrio’s frog Insuetophrynus acarpicus found in this protected area. (c) The high-gradient stream where the species occurs.


unknown (Fig. 2, Supplementary Material 1), limiting our capability to implement evidence-based conservation actions. In April 2022, we identified a Barrio’s frog population in


the Refugio de Ranitas Aldea del Viento protected area, Los Pellines, Chile. This population, which is 18 km from the nearest known population in Chanchan, fills a gap in the known distribution of Barrio’s frogs along the coast of Valdivia (Fig. 1). We found five Barrio’s frog individuals along a 200-m section at the source of one of two high- gradient streams in the private protected area (Plate 1b–c). We found most individuals under small boulders within the stream.Habitat quality assessments following the proto- col by Barbour et al. (1999) indicated optimal conditions for most of the measured habitat parameters at both streams in the area, although habitat quality was slightly higher in the stream where Barrio’s frog was found (Supplementary Table 1). These streams are characterized by abundant epi- faunal substrate, low embeddedness and sediment depos- ition, minimal amounts of channel substrate exposition, stable banks, absence of channelization and frequent riffles and pools, and the riparian zone is covered by native vege- tation. Similarly, in a locality near Mehuín there was a posi- tive relationship between the occurrence of Barrio’s frog and stream habitat quality measured using the same habitat as- sessment protocol (I. Vásquez & A. Valenzuela-Sánchez, unpubl. data, 2020). Our findings are consistent with previ- ous field observations that this species is a stream-breeding amphibian, with individuals generally found near or in water (Méndez et al., 2006; Contreras et al., 2020; see also references in Supplementary Material 1). Motivated by the discovery of this population, the landowner (co-author SM) is considering new ways to increase the level of protec- tion given to the species in the area (e.g. upgrading the


voluntary land conservation agreement with Ranita de Darwin by signing a conservation easement under the framework of the Derecho Real de Conservación law). This case study illustrates that long-term partnerships


between private landowners and conservationists can be used as an effective tool for protecting the habitat of highly threatened amphibians. This is particularly relevant in the case of evolutionarily distinct amphibian species, which are disproportionally susceptible to local extinction as a re- sult of habitat loss (Greenberg et al., 2018). The voluntary land conservation agreement between a landowner and Ranita de Darwin defines clear targets (e.g. conservation of native amphibians, including Barrio’s frog) and conserva- tion goals (e.g. protection of the habitat of native amphi- bians and control of threats to ensure self-sustaining amphibian populations). It also sets a list of strategies to achieve these goals, including a broad array of conservation actions, such as habitat protection and restoration, manage- ment of invasive species and promotion of conservation- focused research, and it provides a monitoring plan to evaluate success and enable adaptation. An important priority in the Refugio de Ranitas Aldea del Viento is to determine the presence and impact of potential threats to Barrio’s frog, especially those that could originate from sur- rounding lands because, to our knowledge, these areas are not managed for conservation. This will facilitate the devel- opment and prioritization of effective strategies to prevent or reduce threats. Potential direct and indirect threats to Barrio’s frog in this protected area include: (1) free-roaming cattle, (2) the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis,(3) pollution runoff from a road 200maway, (4) domestic sew- age from nearby residential buildings, (5) freshwater ab- straction, (6) illegal logging, (7) increased land subdivision


Oryx, 2025, 59(1), 50–53 © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605324000115


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