2023 Start-Up Grant: Towards the return of the Patagonia frog (Atelognathus patagonicus) to Laguna Blanca, Argentina
Grantee
Project Leader: Paula González Ciccia, Fundación Temaikèn
The Patagonia frog, Atelognathus patagonicus, is an endemic, critically endangered species that lives in a small number of basaltic lakes in Patagonia. During the last decade, populations of this species have declined by more than 90%. The largest local population of this species inhabited Laguna Blanca, and was in contact with other populations that resided in neighboring smaller lakes.
The illegal introduction of fish into Laguna Blanca caused the extinction of the largest population of the Patagonia frog species. In the neighboring lakes, a combination of threats have this species at the limit of its survival. Some of these threats include the eutrophication of the environment due to the presence of livestock, the existence of emerging diseases such as chytrid fungus and ranavirus, as well as the drying up of small lakes due to climate change.
The National Parks Administration (APN) began a series of projects aimed at evaluating and controlling the population of exotic fish in Laguna Blanca in order to restore its ecological conditions. They have managed to reduce the abundance of fish, thus promoting a more suitable habitat for native species, including the Patagonia frog. However, natural recolonization by the Patagonian Frog is unlikely due to the small size of the neighboring populations and the poor state of the corridors between the lakes. APN and the Temaikèn Foundation joined forces to rescue individuals from desiccated temporary lakes and establish a survival colony for ex situ breeding purposes. While the APN and the UNLP work on in situ habitat restoration (e.g., exclusion of livestock and the creation of limnocorrals), we will develop a reproduction program that will hopefully generate individuals to carry out experimental recolonization. The final goal of this project is to return the Patagonia frog to Laguna Blanca, its main reproductive environment.
