Perspectives on invasive amphibians in Brazil

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Conservation Biology
• Bioacoustics

Background:

• Introduced species can become invasive, threatening ecosystems, with climate influencing their success.
• Amphibian invasions are a growing concern in Brazil, necessitating ecological risk assessments.
• Species distribution modeling (SDM) is crucial for predicting invasive species' spread and impact.

Purpose of the Study:

• To model current and future habitat suitability for six invasive amphibian species in Brazil.
• To assess disease presence in newly introduced invasive amphibians.
• To quantify acoustic overlap between invasive and native amphibian species.

Main Methods:

• Species distribution modeling (SDM) to predict current and future invasive amphibian ranges.
• Disease screening for Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) in invasive species.
• Acoustic recordings and analysis to determine niche overlap with native species.

Main Results:

• All six invasive amphibian species show potential for range expansion in Brazil.
• SDMs predict significant habitat expansion for two species by 2100.
• High acoustic niche overlap was observed, potentially impacting native frog mating success.
• Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) was not detected in the studied invasive populations.

Conclusions:

• Invasive amphibian populations in Brazil are increasing, requiring immediate monitoring and control strategies.
• Climate change may facilitate further spread of invasive amphibians.
• Acoustic interference poses a threat to native amphibian populations.