Monthly Achievement Report, GVI Costa Rica Expedition, 10 October 2012

                                             The beginnings of an amphibian’s project!

In January 2010, GVI began the Biological Assessment and Incidental Sightings Projects to collect data regarding the abundance and diversity of animal species belonging to the four classes of: Amphibia, Aves, Mammalia and Reptilia. A secondary aim of the Biological Assessment Project was to determine if the data collected could be used to develop new, more class/species specific projects.

Since their inception (using data compiled from both projects), a total of 26 species of Amphibians have been identified within the area of Tortuguero National Park surveyed by GVI. These include 1 Caecillian, and 25 Anurans (3 Toads, 22 Frogs): many of these have been seen only sporadically and only a handful are recorded regularly.

It became apparent that after many night walks over several weeks, between May and July 2012, that there is a very diverse amphibian population residing in the Jalova area; which have the potential to be seen more often if regular surveys occurred. This thought, along with a desire to further understand how each area of forest effects the species found therein, prompted the creation of the Amphibian Project.

Boulenger’s Snouted Treefrog (Scinax boulengeri), found in the Coconut Plantation (Marsh)      .

This project has two aspects: the first involves surveying various sites at night, all of which differ in their ability to retain water during the wet season - water being crucial at some stage (or all) of the life cycles of all Amphibians. The second involves gathering data on the morphology of individuals and the area they are found. This information is collected during the night and day to gain information on both nocturnal and diurnal species.

In the past 3 months, GVI has seen an increase in the number of Amphibian species recorded on a weekly basis. This includes species which have never been recorded by GVI before, such as the Boulenger’s Snouted Treefrog (Scinax boulengeri), as well as species which are rare due to extremely small ranges, such as the Tawny Treefrog (Smilisca puma) With continuing surveys it will be interesting to see if such species will be sighted more often. This will also give us more insight into where and when each species is likely to be present. It is also hoped that with the data collected from this survey, GVI will be able to further understand the differences between the habitats types. 

               Tawny Treefrog (Smilisca puma), found in the Coconut Plantation (Marsh)

Table 1: Amphibians present in the Southern End of Tortuguero National Park

Caecillian	Purple Caecillian
	Green Climbing Toad	Bufo coniferus
	Marine Toad	Bufo marinus
	Wet Forest Toad	Bufo melanochlorus
Anuran: Hylidae	Red-Eyed Treefrog	Agalychnis callidryas
	Hourglass Treefrog	Hyla ebraccata
	San Carlos Treefrog	Hyla phlebodes
	Scarlet-webbed Treefrog	Hyla rufitela
	Boulenger’s Snouted Treefrog	Scinax boulengeri
	Olive-snouted Treefrog	Scinax elaeochroa
	Common Mexican Treefrog	Smilisca baudinii
	Masked Treefrog	Smilisca phaeota
	Tawny Treefrog	Smilisca puma
Anuran: Leptodactyladae	Bransfords Litterfrog	Eleutherodactylus bransfordii
	Leaf-breeding Rainfrog	Eleutherodactylus caryophyllaceus
	Slim-fingered Rainfrog	Eleutherodactylus crassidigitus
	Tink Frog	Eleutherodactylus diastema
	Fitzingers Rainfrog	Eleutherodactylus fitzingeri
	Northern Maskers Rainfrog	Eleutherodactylus mimus
	Nobles Rainfrog	Eleutherodactylus noblei
	Pygmy Rainfrog	Eleutherodactylus ridens
	Talamancan Rainfrog	Eleutherodacylus talamancae
	Fringe-toed Foam Frog	Leptodactylus melanonotus
	Smokey Jungle Frog	Leptodacylus pentadactylus
Anuran Ranidae	Taylors Leopard Frog	Rana taylori
	Vaillants Treefrog	Rana vaillanti
	Reticulated Sheepfrog	Gastrophyrne pictventris

Monthly Achievement Report, GVI Costa Rica Expedition, 10 October 2012