Ex situ program progress

Ex situ program progress


Species		Atelopus certus
Region where the program is based		Mesoamerica
The country or countries where this program is based		Panama
The authority that recommended this species for an ex situ program		At an AArk Conservation Needs Assessment workshop
Has a genetic analysis been performed on wild populations to define the target taxon, i.e., verify that single, viable Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESU's) that are managed as separate populations, are not confounded by cryptic species or polymorphisms?		No
If the answer to ESU is No, then there should be an entry for the needs in the Conservation Projects list. This is a link to the project.
Name of the institution(s) managing the ex situ population		Summit Zoo
The year that the program started		2009
Is at least some portion of the captive population maintained in range country?		Yes
Are sufficient resources available to manage the ex situ population?		Yes
If additional financial resources are required then then there should be an entry for the needs in the Conservation Projects list. This is a link to the project.
Are adequate numbers of skilled staff available with the appropriate ex situ amphibian experience?		Yes
If additional staff training/expertise is required then then there should be an entry for the needs in the Conservation Projects list. This is a link to the project.
Is sufficient space available for the required population size?		No
If additional facilities are required then then there should be an entry for the needs in the Conservation Projects list. This is a link to the project.
Has a Taxon Management Coordinator for the ex situ population been appointed?		Yes
Name of the Taxon Management Coordinator		Brian Gratwicke
Taxon Management Coordinator’s institution		Smithsonian Institution
Taxon Management Coordinator’s email address		gratwickeb@si.edu
Has a Taxon Management Group or Recovery Team been established?		No
Names and institutions of Taxon Management Group members
Has a Taxon Management Plan, Recovery Plan or Species Action Statement been written?		No
Web link to Taxon Management Plan
Have Husbandry Guidelines been written?		Yes
Web link to Husbandry Management Guidelines		The PGF manual has worked great for this species
Have any knowledge gaps in the species biology or in their interaction with potential threats been identified that could benefit from research using the ex-situ population?		Yes
List of any knowledge gaps		Skin microbial fauna, Different color morphs from elsewhere
Have founder needs been calculated using the AArk Amphibian Population Management Guidelines?		Yes
Have sufficient potential founders been collected?		Yes
If sufficient founds have not been collected, is there an ongoing search for additional founders?		Yes
The number of potential founders that were collected (males, females and unsexed).		37 males /11 females / 18 unsexed (66 founders)
Is the ex situ population managed by nationals from the range country?		Yes
What tools are used to maximize retention of gene diversity?		Others
Has the population produced viable offspring?		No
Have the first generation captive-bred animals bred successfully?		No
Is the ex situ population housed in permanent isolation from other populations occurring outside its range?		Yes
Is work being supported to study and mitigate threats to the species in the wild, either by the institution or by a regional wildlife agency?		Yes
Have captive-bred or captive-reared animals been released into the wild?		No
If releases were undertaken, have disease screening protocols or veterinary health checks been conducted prior to releases to the wild?		No
Is follow-up work being carried out to monitor progress of the released animals?		No
Is the taxon again secure in the wild, even if it might still require some ongoing in situ management? i.e., has the need for a captive assurance population been obviated such that we can call this a successfully terminated captive rescue program?		No
Comments		We are going back to Capo Sapo to collect some more females. We have two apmplexant pairs in breeding setups, they seem to be doing really well. A 1-hour Smithsonian documentary on this rescue should be coming out in January. We can never have too much training, and we are very grateful for the Amphibian Ark's first workshop. We would love to participate in any future training opportunities. We currently have sufficient space for the founding population, but we anticipate that as we obtain offspring, space will rapidly become a limiting factor. We plan to use the automated studbooks in the new ISIS roll out. We have not yet conducted studbook training, because we are waiting for the software to be finished.