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Environment
  • Factsheet
  • 14 March 2024
  • Directorate-General for Environment
  • 2 min read

Amphibian conservation: in-situ and ex-situ interventions in Spain in a context of global change

Habitat restoration, larvae rescue and ex-situ breeding in the ‘Sierra de Guadarrama’ Natura 2000 site have led to the natural recolonisation of 40 interconnected wetlands by various amphibian species.    

Discoglossus galganoi
Marisol Redondo Rodríguez/OAPN/MITECO/ESPAÑA

About the finalist 

Lead applicants        Centro Montes de Valsaín y Cabeza de Hierro (Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales, Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico)
Category              Conservation on land
Countries involved      Spain
Main Natura 2000 sites  Sierra de Guadarrama (Spain)
Website    https://www.miteco.gob.es/es/parques-nacionales-oapn.html

Overview 

The widespread decline of amphibians is an important warning sign in the environmental crisis we are facing. Amphibians are the most threatened group of vertebrates on the planet, due to habitat degradation and fragmentation, emerging diseases, pollution, invasive alien species and climate change. Moreover, these threats often act in synergy, further aggravating the situation. 

Located in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park and the ‘Sierra de Guadarrama’ Natura 2000 site, the Montes de Valsaín area is home to a community of 11 amphibian species protected by the Habitat Directive, including the Iberian painted frog (Discoglossus galganoi), the Iberian frog (Rana iberica) and the common midwife toad (Alytes obstetricans). They all require very specific wetland habitats for their successful reproduction, including habitats listed in the Habitats Directive, such as Mediterranean temporary ponds and natural dystrophic ponds, and clean running water.  

The Spanish Autonomous Authority for National Parks (OAPN) has been working for years on the implementation of a strategy to improve the conservation status of these amphibian species in Montes de Valsaín, based on four main pillars: 

  1. Increase of knowledge. 
  2. Ex-situ conservation through specifically developed protocols in an ad-hoc recovery laboratory. This involves: the rescue of larvae that would most likely not survive in the wild; the subsequent reintroduction of the juveniles into the wild; and a captive breeding programme. 
  3. A network of 40 interconnected protected wetland habitats, achieved by restoring the habitats and creating new ponds, which is now increasingly used and naturally colonised by the recovering populations. 
  4. The long-term monitoring needed to assess the effectiveness of the conservation activities and the evolution of populations, as well as to early detect emerging diseases or invasive alien species. 

This approach is entirely natural and does not involve any translocation of adults or larvae. Individuals are reintroduced to the sites where they were originally captured, allowing them to naturally colonise other ponds or wetlands of the network.  Furthermore, the restoration of the habitats has been carried out using only natural materials.  

In addition to the new breeding protocols developed, the initiative also involves another innovative conservation tool: the canine detection of amphibians. Amphibians are often difficult to detect in the field, and this method allows the identification of the specimens released from the recovery centre. 

These interventions are visibly and rapidly improving the conservation status of the amphibians in this part of the ‘Sierra de Guadarrama’ Natura 2000 site. The OAPN has started replicating this approach in other Natura 2000 sites under its management. 

Pictures from the finalist

Alyobs in a tree
Marisol Redondo Rodríguez
Ranibe in a pond
Marisol Redondo Rodríguez
stream
Marisol Redondo Rodríguez
person in the stream
Marisol Redondo Rodríguez
stream and forest
Marisol Redondo Rodríguez
 

 

Videos from the finalist: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulVZLddIDpg 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCJjhmgK1Ss 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USTyl03xGZo 

Details

Publication date
14 March 2024
Author
Directorate-General for Environment

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