Litoria nannotis

– Endangered

Taxonomy

Kingdom:	ANIMALIA
Phylum:	CHORDATA
Class:	AMPHIBIA
Order:	ANURA
Family:	HYLIDAE
Scientific Name:	Litoria nannotis
Species Authority:	(Andersson, 1916)
Common Name/s:	TORRENT TREE FROG (Eng) WATERFALL FROG (Eng)

Assessment Information

Red List Category & Criteria:

EN A2ae ver 3.1 (2001)

Year Assessed:

2004

Assessor/s:

Hero, J.-M. & Retallick, R.

Evaluator/s:

Stuart, S., Chanson, J. & Cox, N. (Global Amphibian Assessment Coordinating Team)

Justification:

Listed as Endangered because of a drastic population decline estimated to be more than 50% over the last three generations, possibly due to chytridiomycosis.

History:

1994	-	Vulnerable (Groombridge 1994)
1996	-	Endangered (Baillie and Groombridge 1996)
2001	-	Endangered (IUCN 2002)

Geographic Range

Range Description:	This species is endemic to the Wet Tropics Bioregion in north Queensland, from Paluma to Cooktown (Hero and Fickling 1994; Williams and Hero 1998, 2001) at altitudes between 180 and 1,300 m asl (McDonald 1992). It includes three deeply divergent mitochondrial DNA lineages, distributed from Paluma to Tully River, Tully River to Lamb Range, and Mount Lewis to Big Tableland (Schneider, Cunningham and Moritz 1998).
Range Map:	(click for detailed map)
Countries:	Native: Australia (Queensland)

Population

Population:

This species was first noted to have declined in 1990 (Richards, McDonald and Alford 1993), since it had apparently disappeared from most upland sites south of the Daintree River. The species occurred at all lowland sites, and at upland sites north of the Daintree River during summer surveys in 1991-1992. In 1994 it was sighted at several locations above 600 m asl on Mount Father Clancy. Lowland populations surveyed in Tully Gorge appeared to be relatively stable between 1995 and 1998 (J.-M. Hero pers. comm.). At the southern end of its range it was last observed in Mount Spec State Forest in 1991 (Richards, McDonald and Alford 1993); however, adults occurred at a lower elevation site in a different creek system (Crystal Creek Stone Bridge, 300 m asl) from January 1994 to September 1995 (J.-M. Hero pers. comm.). This species is currently known to have stable populations at lowland sites (Hero et al. 1998; McDonald and Alford 1999).

Population Trend:

Habitat and Ecology

Habitat and Ecology:

Litoria nannotis is a habitat specialist, restricted to rocky stream habitats in rainforest or wet sclerophyll forest where there is fast-flowing water, waterfalls and cascades (Liem 1974b; McDonald 1992). It is a stream dwelling and breeding species (Hodgkison and Hero 2001), but, unlike most stream-breeding frog species that live in the adjacent forest and use the stream habitat for breeding, the stream is the primary habitat for both male and females throughout the year (Hodgkison and Hero 2001, 2002). On several occasions the adults and juveniles were noted to form small aggregations (4-6 individuals) amongst large boulders behind waterfalls (Liem 1974b; J-M. Hero pers. obs.). Gravid females and males with nuptial pads are encountered all year round (Martin and McDonald 1995). Unpigmented eggs numbering 136-216 (1.98-3.4 mm in diameter) are laid in gelatinous egg masses under rocks in water (Liem 1974b; Hero and Fickling 1996). Liem (1974b) described the larva and noted that it is one of the few species of frog known to exhibit larval adaptations to torrent environments of Australia, such as a streamlined body shape, large suctorial mouthparts and a muscular tail. Richards (1992) also provided information on the larvae of the L. nannotis group.

System:

Terrestrial; Freshwater

List of Habitats:

1.6	Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland
5.1	Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls)

Threats

Threats:

The reason(s) for the decline are unknown. Richards, McDonald and Alford (1993) reject drought, floods, habitat destruction or pollution by pesticides, inorganic ions or heavy metals. The habitat of the species in the Wet Tropics has been protected since 1988, and habitat destruction is no longer a major threat (McDonald and Alford 1999). Research is examining the possibility that disease, such as a viral infection or chytrid fungus, may have contributed to the decline of this species (Berger, Speare and Hyattt 1999). Feral pigs are a potential cause of riparian habitat damage and adult frog mortality (Richards, McDonald and Alford 1993). The activity of feral pigs has been recorded to have increased over the period 1989-1992 in an area previously inhabited by L. nannotis (Richards, McDonald and Alford 1993). However, there has been very little research into the impact of feral pigs on native frog populations (Richards, McDonald and Alford 1993).

List of Threats:

1.3.3.3	Habitat Loss/Degradation - Extraction - Wood - Clear-cutting (past)
1.5	Habitat Loss/Degradation - Invasive alien species (present, future)
8.5	Changes in native species dynamics - Pathogens/parasites (ongoing)
10.1	Human disturbance - Recreation/tourism (present, future)

Conservation Actions

Conservation Actions:

There is a need for continued and strengthened protection of habitat in the Wet Tropics, including an improved management plan that involves dealing with the threat posed by feral pigs. Further research into the reasons for the decline of this species in pristine habitat is necessary.

List of Conservation Actions:

1.1.1	Policy-based actions - Management plans - Development (in place)
1.1.2	Policy-based actions - Management plans - Implementation (needed)
1.2.1.2	Policy-based actions - Legislation - Development - National level (in place)
1.2.1.3	Policy-based actions - Legislation - Development - Sub-national level (in place)
1.2.2.2	Policy-based actions - Legislation - Implementation - National level (needed)
1.2.2.3	Policy-based actions - Legislation - Implementation - Sub-national level (needed)
3.2	Research actions - Population numbers and range (needed)
3.3	Research actions - Biology and Ecology (needed)
3.4	Research actions - Habitat status (needed)
3.5	Research actions - Threats (needed)
3.8	Research actions - Conservation measures (needed)
3.9	Research actions - Trends/Monitoring (needed)
4.4.1	Habitat and site-based actions - Protected areas - Identification of new protected areas (in place)
4.4.2	Habitat and site-based actions - Protected areas - Establishment (in place)
4.4.3	Habitat and site-based actions - Protected areas - Management (in place)

Bibliography

Bibliography:

Amphibian Data. For additional documentation about utilization and CITES status, click on the Global Amphibian Assessment (GAA) link above to see the GAA account for this species or alternatively follow this link to the search function on the Global Amphibian Assessment web site and run your own search.

Baillie, J. and Groombridge, B. (compilers and editors) 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.

Barker, J., Grigg, G. and Tyler, M. 1995. A Field Guide to Australian Frogs. Surrey Beatty and Sons Pty Ltd, New South Wales.

Berger, L., Speare, R. and Hyatt, A. 1999. Chytrid fungi and amphibian declines: overview, implications and future directions. In: A. Campbell (ed.), Declines and Disappearances of Australian Frogs, pp. 23-33. Environment Australia, Canberra.

Cogger, H.G. 1992. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Reed Books, New South Wales.

Groombridge, B. (ed.) 1994. 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.

Hero, J.-M and Fickling, S. 1996. Reproductive characteristics of female frogs from mesic habitats in Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 39: 306.

Hero, J.-M., Hines, H.B., Meyer, E., Morrison, C., Streatfeild, C and Roberts, L. 1998. New records of “declining” frogs in Queensland, Australia. FrogLog 29: 1-4.

Hodgkison, S.C. and Hero, J.-M. 2001. Daily behaviour and microhabitat use of the Waterfall Frog, Litoria nannotis in Tully Gorge, Eastern Australia. Journal of Herpetology 35(1): 166-170.

Hodgkison, S.C. and Hero, J.-M. 2002. Seasonal behaviour of Litoria nannotis, Litoria rheocola and Nyctimystes dayi in Tully Gorge, north Queensland, Australia. In: R. Natrass (ed.), Frogs in the Community - Proceedings of the Brisbane Conference 13-14 February 1999, pp. 29-39. Queensland Museum.

Hodgkison, S.C. and Hero, J.-M. 2003. Seasonal, sexual and ontogenetic variations in the diet of the declining frogs, Litoria nannotis, L. rheocola and Nyctimystes dayi. Wildlife Research 30(4): 345-354.

IUCN. 2002. 2002 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. . Downloaded on 8 October 2002.

Liem, D.S. 1974. A review of the Litoria nannotis species group and a description of a new species of Litoria from north-east Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 17(1): 151-168.

Martin, W.F. and McDonald, K.R. 1995. Draft Recovery Plan for the Threatened Stream-dwelling Frogs of the Wet Tropics. Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage, Brisbane, Australia.

McDonald, K. and Alford, R. 1999. A review of declining frogs in northern Queensland. In: A. Campbell (ed.), Declines and Disappearances of Australian Frogs, pp. 14-22. Environment Australia, Canberra.

McDonald, K.R. 1992. Distribution patterns and conservation status of north Queensland rainforest frogs. In: Conservation Technical Report No. 1. Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage, Brisbane, Australia.

Richards, S.J. 1992. The tadpole of the Australian frog Litoria nyakalensis (Anura: Hylidae), and a key to the torrent tadpoles of northern Queensland. Alytes 10(3): 99-103.

Richards, S.J., McDonald, K.R. and Alford, R.A. 1993. Declines in populations of Australia’s endemic tropical rainforest frogs. Pacific Conservation Biology 1: 66-77.

Schneider, C.J., Cunningham, M. and Moritz, C. 1998. The comparative phylogeography and the history of endemic vertebrates in the Wet Tropics rainforests of Australia. Molecular Ecology 7: 487-498.

Tyler, M.J. 1997. The Action Plan for Australian Frogs. Wildlife Australia, Canberra, ACT.

Williams, S.E. and Hero, J.-M. 1998. Rainforest frogs of the Australian Wet Tropics: guild classification and the ecological similarity of declining species. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 265: 597-602.

Williams, S.E. and Hero, J.-M. 2001. Multiple determinants of Australian Tropical Frog Biodiversity. Biological Conservation 98: 1-10.

Citation:	Hero, J.-M. & Retallick, R. 2004. Litoria nannotis. In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 04 July 2008.
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