Post-release survival of translocated Eleutherodactylus coqui in Puerto Rico

Translocating individuals of Eleutherodactylus frogs to alternative, suitable habitat is an adaptation strategy designed to minimize the impact of projected warming and drying in Puerto Rico. The action increases species persistence by increasing spatial redundancy, but it could also be used to supplement extant populations. We released 34 Eleutherodactylus coqui to determine initial, post-release survival under two treatments ? non-translocated (N = 14), and translocated (N=20) to a different location 0.8 km away, but sharing similar habitat and environmental conditions. We defined ?initial? as the first 17 days post-release, a period where we hypothesized that translocated individuals would have lower survival rates because they transition from known-familiar habitat to novel-unfamiliar habitat. Daily survival rates (DSR) were better explained by a model with constant survival and no treatment effect (DSR = 0.999 � 0.001). The best supported model (AICc ? 2) indicated that temperature where frogs perched when captured (in-situ), negatively influenced daily survival, but the effect was weak (95%CIs overlapped 0). All but one of the frogs recaptured gained weight after 17 days post-release (average gain = 0.28 � 0.13 g), suggesting that transmitter/harness setup did not affect foraging behavior. The average daily distance travelled per individual was 0.76 � 0.22 m, being significantly higher for translocated individuals (1.19 � 0.35 m). Findings suggested that managed translocations have the potential to become a useful conservation tool, but challenges remain before it can be considered an integral part of post-translocation monitoring, particularly those Eleutherodactylus species with lower body mass.