Distribution and Conservation Status of Amphibian and Reptile Species in the Lacandona Rainforest, Mexico: an Update after 20 Years of Research

Abstract

Mexico has one of the richest tropical forests, but is also one of the most deforested in Mesoamerica. Species lists updates and accurate information on the geographic distribution of species are necessary for baseline studies in ecology and conservation of these sites. Here, we present an updated list of the diversity of amphibians and reptiles in the Lacandona region, and actualized information on their distribution and conservation status. Although some studies have discussed the amphibians and reptiles of the Lacandona, most herpetological lists came from the northern part of the region, and there are no confirmed records for many of the species assumed to live in the region. After reviewing databases of scientific collections and published herpetological lists, and adding new information from our 2007 to 2013 inventories of the southeastern Lacandona rainforest, we recorded 124 species (89 reptiles and 35 amphibians) for the region. Nine amphibians (25.7%) and 2 (2.2%) reptiles are endemic to the Mayan forest (from the Lacandona, in Mexico, to the Mayan Mountains in Belize). Four amphibians and three reptiles appeared to be restricted to the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve, suggesting that they are particularly vulnerable to habitat loss and degradation. On average, the region shares less than 60% of the species with neighboring Mexican tropical forests (e.g., Las Choapas region and Los Tuxtlas, Calakmul, and Sian-Ka'an Biosphere Reserves). Of the herpetofauna evaluated, the Mexican government threatened species list (NOM 059) indicates that seven species (20%) are under a risk category, while the IUCN indicates that only seven species (10.1%) are at risk. Our findings indicate that Lacandona is of great importance for the conservation of the Mesoamerican herpetofauna. Nevertheless, increasing deforestation levels add further uncertainties to the maintenance of amphibians and reptiles among other vertebrates in the region.

Species sorting and mass effect along forest succession: Evidence from taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of amphibian communities

“…In the north is the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve, with an area of 310,000 ha (INE, ). This region maintains one of the most species‐rich communities of amphibians in the country (Hernández‐Ordóñez et al, ), with only a few species shared with the Petén region in Guatemala, and the Mayan mountains in Belize (Hernández‐Ordóñez et al, ).…”

Range extensions of amphibians and reptiles in the southeastern part of the Lacandona rainforest, Mexico

“…The very high number of species of amphibians and reptiles recorded to date highlights the importance of the Lacandona rainforest to the Mexican herpetofaunistic diversity, as this rainforest represents the second most diverse tropical region in Mexico, just behind the Los Tuxtlas region (Hernández-Ordóñez et al, 2014). Although the Lacandona rainforest covers 0.66% of the Mexican continental territory (about 2,000,000 km 2 ), according to recently published estimates for amphibians ( (16 reptiles and 5 amphibians) that have been suggested to be present in the Lacandona rainforest, from which here we confirmed the occurrence of 4 species (2 amphibians and 2 reptiles).…”

“…The annual deforestation rate in the region is between 1 and 8% (Couturier, Núñez, & Kolb, 2012;Mora, 2008), mainly to create agricultural and pasture lands. Management and conservation efforts should focus on preventing additional forest loss in the region, as: (1) many amphibians and reptiles are endemic to the Mayan forest; (2) the region shares <60% of the species with neighboring Mexican tropical forests, and (3) some species are particularly vulnerable to habitat loss and degradation (reviewed by Hernández-Ordóñez et al, 2014).…”

“…Four out of these 40 records confirmed the occurrence of two amphibian and two reptile species, improving thus the accuracy of the information on the species geographic distributions in the region. We also corrected our previous published species list (Hernández-Ordóñez et al, 2014), by changing Anolis sericeus to Anolis unilobatus, and Marisora unimarginata to Marisora brachypoda, and by excluding Drymarchon corais from this list, as suggested by Crother et al (2003). Thus, this paper represents the most recent updated list of amphibian and reptile species for the region.…”

“…The Lacandona rainforest contributes greatly to the herpetofaunistic diversity of Mexico and Mesoamerica, being nowadays considered a priority area for biodiversity conservation (Conabio-Conanp-TNC-Pronatura-FCF, UANL, 2007). Yet the available information on species richness and distribution of amphibians and reptiles in the region is incomplete and largely inaccurate (Hernández-Ordóñez et al, 2014).…”