2025 Program Grants: Ex situ conservation of five endemic amphibians in Guatemala - La Aurora National Zoo
As part of AArk’s 2024 Conservation Needs Assessment (CNA) for Guatemalan amphibians, we worked with local experts and identified 11 species urgently needing ex situ conservation. Yet, no ex situ projects currently exist. This new initiative addresses that gap by launching the country’s first amphibian breeding research facility.
Rowland Griffin | Parque Zoológico Nacional La Aurora
Jennifer M. Hernández M. | Parque Zoológico Nacional La Aurora
Guatemala is a mega-diverse country with 146 amphibian species, of which 99 are threatened with extinction, making it the country with the second-highest proportion of endangered amphibians in mainland Latin America. As part of AArk’s 2024 Conservation Needs Assessment (CNA) for Guatemalan amphibians, we worked with local experts and identified 11 species urgently needing ex situ conservation. Yet, no ex situ projects currently exist. This new initiative addresses that gap by launching the country’s first amphibian breeding research facility.
Habitat loss and degradation are the main threats to all species proposed for this project. We can mitigate these effects by working with local NGO and private reserves. Habitat protection efforts are already underway through these partners, and these will be the locations for future reintroductions.
With AArk’s three-year grant, La Aurora National Zoo and partners will first gain husbandry expertise using two analog species (Bolitoglossa helmrichi and Plectrohyla guatemalensis), then expand to three focal species: B. morio, B. kaqchikelorum, and Craugastor inachus. Year 1 will focus on training with Detroit and St. Louis Zoos and designing the new facility; Year 2 will focus on the husbandry and breeding attempts of analog species, collecting founders, and refining care protocols; and Year 3 will include the addition of B. morio and B. kaqchikelorum, first breeding attempts of Craugastor inachus, and potential analog releases.
