Dusky Gopher Frog Recovery Plan - Elan Timmons

Dusky Gopher Frog Recovery Plan

Elan Timmons

BIO 227

The dusky gopher frog was first listed on the endangered species list in 2001 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. It is currently distributed solely in the state of Mississippi where it is estimated that a minimum of 135 individual adult frogs survive in the wild, although historic records show that they have existed in Alabama and Louisiana as well. Although at the time of listing, there was only one population of the species that the researchers were aware of, two other populations have been discovered since, and one additional population has been established in Mississippi from translocation experiments. The dusky gopher frog has been awarded a recovery priority number of 5 because of the high degree of threat that it faces coupled with its low recovery potential. The recovery objective is to downlist the dusky gopher frog from endangered to threatened, because delisting is not currently a foreseeable possibility.

The dusky gopher frog's optimal adult habitat consist of uplands dominated by fire-maintained longleaf pine with a grassy understory. It's optimal larval habitat consists of grassy, acidic, isolated, ephemeral, depressional wetlands that lack predaceous fish. Destruction and degradation to these ideal habitats are some of the largest threats that the dusky gopher frog faces along with disease and range restrictions.

There is a multi layered approach to the recovery strategy which consists of maintaining and enhancing existing populations; monitoring the status of existing populations; identifying and securing additional dusky gopher frog populations and habitat; building new populations through translocations or reintroductions; and supporting research that guides land management and provides demographic and ecological data. This multi leveled approach should be implemented for all sites where the dusky gopher frog occurs. Appropriate habitat management measures must be taken which involves minimizing soil disturbance and loss of native herbaceous groundcover vegetation; conducting prescribed burning, particularly during the growing season; maintaining open-canopied, grassy wetlands; and restoring degraded upland habitat. Management plans should also specifically address habitat modifications that are necessary to maintain the appropriate habitat changes that have been made.

It is also important that monitoring programs are put in place to track population trends and how the species responds to the habitat management activities. These monitoring programs will also have to be evaluated and revised as the project moves forward.

Assessment of potentially suitable habitat within the range of this species will be necessary in order to expand, build new populations, and expand its range, if no such habitat is found then a suitable habitat for translocations/reintroductions needs to be identified as an alternative. A Species Status Assessment (SSA) for the dusky gopher frog will need to be made in the future so that changes to the recovery plan can be implemented properly.

The actions which the US Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region will be working on which they can use help with are; protection through habitat restoration and management, species monitoring, continued searches for additional dusky gopher frog populations, conduct a population and habitat viability analysis with the supporting research, the formulation and implementation of guidelines for using translocations to establish dusky gopher frog populations. By working with people in areas of potential habitats hopefully the dusky gopher frog will be able to be moved down on the endangered species list and the progress being made will continue forward.

References:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2015. Dusky Gopher Frog (Rana sevosa) Recovery Plan. Atlanta, Georgia. 86pp.

Links to further reading for better understanding of this topic:

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-09-10/pdf/2014-21549.pdf

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-06-12/pdf/2012-13488.pdf

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-01-17/pdf/2012-662.pdf

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-09-27/pdf/2011-24046.pdf