Potential distribution of threatened Leptopelis spp. (Anura, Arthroleptidae) in Ethiopia derived from climate and land-cover data

Abstract

Ethiopia harbours 9 species of threatened amphibians, all of which inhabit the highlands. Over the last decades, there has been a rapid increase in deforestation and habitat degradation in Ethiopia, with the result that the last undisturbed refuges for forest-dwelling anurans in the mountain areas have shrunk noticeably, especially outside of protected areas. In the present study, we used a maximum entropy ecological niche modelling approach to model the potential distribution of 2 poorly known Leptopelis species. The models were derived from climate and land cover data at known occurrences of the species (i.e. data from a number of natural history museums). These models can be used to select the priority areas most critical for future protection and may guide further field surveys to accelerate the discovery of unknown populations. © Inter-Research 2010.