Rana acuatica de espada (Telmatobius espadai)

Mohamed bin Zayed Species project number 13056987

This research would be a continuation of a previous project: Ecology and conservation of an endemic population of amphibians in "Serranía la Siberia" (Ramos, 2008), carried out in the years 2007 and 2008, as my B.Sc. thesis. In this study, I described the basic biology of 3 endemic species in the area adjacent to the one proposed for the present funding. The species Telmatobius espadai was not included in my thesis for not being present in the study area. T. espadai is classified as Critically Endangered by IUCN and its associated vegetation, Yungas, is one of the most endangered ecosystems of the world and contains almost 90% of the country´s endemic species. As a consequence, it is important to study it. Therefore, the main aim of the proposed research would be to generate biological information in order to help the species´ conservation, not only through scientific research, but also through environmental education in the study area. At the same time, we would be training two B.Sc. students of Biology in herpethological techniques. By the end of the research we expect to obtain key biological information to start a long term conservation program of the species in Bolivia.