Frogs and habitat quality and why it matters

Urich's frog - Pristimantis urichi (foreground) and Cane toad - Rhinella marina (background). Photo by Rainer Deo

Cane toads (Rhinella marina) are considered habitat generalists whereas Urich's frog, (Pristimantis urichi endemic to Trinidad and Tobago) are habitat specialists - found in forests and at forest edge. The Urich's frog can potentially be used to assess habitat quality with its presence whereas Cane toads can sometimes indicate a relatively disturbed habitat. However, due to the ubiquitous habits of the cane toad, sometimes their paths do cross with forest specialist species. One example can be seen here (photo above) where both species were observed at the Arima Valley in Trinidad, near the William Beebe Research Station (aka Simla).

However, with increasing development, the likelihood of more sightings like these will be limited. As more forest is lost to human disturbance, more forest specialist species will be lost. Frogs have been noted to act as indicators of environmental health, and, also provide health benefits to people such as potentially treating diseases (example diabetes). Not everyone likes frogs, but at the very least, everyone should put effort to protecting them, if not for the benefit of other animals and the environment, but to people health and well-being.

To learn more about these frog species and other local species in Trinidad and Tobago, get your very own copy of the Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Trinidad and Tobago! See more info here.

One of Trinidad's geckos gets a name upgrade

Gonatodes ferrugineus (formerly G. humeralis) from Trinidad. Photo by Renoir Auguste

Geckos are a group of terrestrial vertebrates that tend to be restricted to small geographic ranges. The exception appears in the genus Gonatodes. One species in particular has a range of over a million square kilometres - Gonatodes humeralis commonly called the spot-nosed gecko. However, given its small size, the likelihood of one single small species spread so far is questionable.

Pinto and colleagues (2019) looked into this and used molecular genetic data to investigate the population genetic structure and species delimitation of this Neotropical dwarf gecko. Based on their findings, there is species-level divergence evidence of the population on Trinidad, compared to South America. As such, Gonatodes ferrugineus was resurrected from synonymy for this population.

This is another example of where further research uncovers findings that are there to be discovered.  These findings provide another update to be edited for the future second edition of the field guide to the amphibians and reptiles of Trinidad and Tobago.

Reference
Pinto et al. 2019. Population genetic structure and species delimitation of a widespread Neotropical dwarf gecko. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 133: 54-66.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2018.12.029