Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta frog locality data

Climate change and habitat loss or fragmentation are two major threats to biodiversity. Montane amphibians are particularly sensitive to these threats. Colombia, a megadiverse country, is home to the world's second largest number of amphibians. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (SNSM), an isolated mountain range, houses 48 amphibian species of which 17 are endemic. We aimed to address climate vulnerability of the amphibian community in the SNSM and prioritize amphibian species at risk and conservation actions. We conducted three visual encounter surveys from, 800 – 3,600 m, during September 2017 – July 2018. In order to assess species vulnerability, we completed two independent spatial analyses. First, we calculated the Area of Habitat of each species, defined as habitat available to a species. Area of Habitat was refined (from the original IUCN EOO maps) for the majority of amphibian species, averaging a reduction in available suitable habitat by 71%. We then examined the breadth of climatic space occupied by 16 species and how this space is predicted to shift under predicted climate scenarios (RCP scenarios 4.5 and 8.5) for 2050. Our analysis reveals a large reduction in climatic space under both 2050 RCP 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios. We combined these two analyses with trait data related to adaptive capacity, obtained from previous research, to create a combined (correlative-trait) climate change vulnerability assessment (CCVA) for 19 focal species (16 endemic). Our vulnerability assessment identified eight high priority species, including all three Atelopus spp and five within the Pristimantis complex. Given its isolation, the SNSM and endemic species are particularly susceptible to changing climates. The information provided from the CCVA offers a platform to develop regional strategies for climate change adaptation and conservation.

气候变化与栖息地丧失或破碎化是威胁生物多样性的两大主要因素。山地两栖动物对这类威胁尤为敏感。作为生物多样性超级大国，哥伦比亚拥有全球第二多的两栖动物物种。圣玛尔塔内华达山脉（Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, SNSM）是一处孤立的山地，栖息着48种两栖动物，其中17种为特有种。本研究旨在评估圣玛尔塔内华达山脉两栖动物群落的气候脆弱性，为濒危两栖动物物种及保护行动划分优先级。我们于2017年9月至2018年7月期间，在海拔800至3600米的区域开展了3次视觉偶遇调查。为评估物种气候脆弱性，我们开展了两项独立的空间分析。其一，我们计算了每个物种的栖息地面积（Area of Habitat, AOH），该指标被定义为某一物种可利用的栖息地范围。针对多数两栖动物物种，我们基于原始的国际自然保护联盟（IUCN）物种分布范围（Extent of Occurrence, EOO）地图对栖息地面积进行了修正，最终适宜栖息地的平均缩减比例达71%。其二，我们分析了16个物种所占据的气候空间广度，并预测了在2050年的典型浓度路径（Representative Concentration Pathway, RCP）4.5与8.5情景下，该气候空间的变化趋势。分析结果显示，在2050年RCP4.5与RCP8.5两种情景下，气候空间均会出现大幅缩减。我们将这两项分析结果与此前研究中获取的物种适应性能力性状数据相结合，为19个目标物种（其中16种为特有种）构建了关联性状型气候变化脆弱性评估（correlative-trait climate change vulnerability assessment, CCVA）。本次脆弱性评估确定了8个高优先级保护物种，包括斑蟾属（Atelopus）的全部3个物种，以及棱皮蟾属（Pristimantis）复合群中的5个物种。鉴于圣玛尔塔内华达山脉的孤立性，该区域及其特有物种对气候变化尤为脆弱。本次CCVA得出的分析结果可为制定区域气候变化适应与生物多样性保护策略提供支撑框架。