The population decline of Atelopus quimbaya (Anura: Bufonidae) in the Andes of Colombia

Resumen

The Quimbaya toad, Atelopus quimbaya, is a small bufonid endemic to the Central Andes in Colombia and it is categorized as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. Here, we report all the historical sightings and recent extensive surveys conducted by us in three historical localities where the Quimbaya toad was reported. The last observations of the Quimbaya toad were between 1994 and 1997 in these three localities. Although we conducted three extensive surveys during several years (2003-2004, 2010-2011, and 2011-2012), we can detect any individual, nor eggs or tadpoles, of this species. We discuss potential drivers of population decline for this species in the region and we recommend that this species should declared as Extinct. We suspect that a combination of stressors including invasive trout (rainbow trout), diseases and climatic variability played a role in driving extinction of this species.