Establishing captive breeding and husbandry protocols for Atelopus hoogmoedi, an analog species of the threatened Manauense harlequin toad (A. manauensis) in Brazil
The Manauense harlequin toad (Atelopus manauensis) is a recently named species with a very small geographic range in the vicinity of Manaus, the largest city in the Brazilian Amazon. It has a few remnant populations under strong pressure from rapid, irreversible deforestation for urban and agricultural expansion. For these reasons, it will be listed as globally Endangered in the updated IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (J. Lüedtke, pers. comm.).
To manage the threats, the species was included in the Harlequin Toad (Atelopus) Conservation Action Plan, created collectively by the Atelopus Survival Initiative (ASI), a massive collaborative effort to conserve harlequin toads. One of the strategies included in the plan is the establishment of captive breeding programs for Atelopus species and maintenance of backup populations for future supplementation in the wild. In the Conservation Needs Assessment conducted in 2020, Ex Situ Rescue was recommended as a conservation action for A. manauensis, since identified threats cannot be reversed in time to prevent its extinction.
In the current project, we intend to take the first step before creating a backup population of A. manauensis. As this species has never been maintained in captivity, we aim to establish husbandry and breeding protocols using an analog and widespread species, the Hoogmoed harlequin toad (A. hoogmoedi, Least Concern), which occupies habitats similar to A. manauensis. We will collect five pairs of A. hoogmoedi and bring them to the Reserva Paulista – São Paulo Zoo. Protocols will be tested and established based on the previous experience of the Project Leader and her team with Scinax alcatraz, Nyctimantis pomba, and other Brazilian amphibians.