Observations of a Remnant Population of the Critically Endangered Hylid Frog Isthmohyla rivularis on the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, Costa Rica

Global amphibian declines are recognized as a very serious, wide-spread phenomenon, with over 40% of all amphibian species at risk of extinction and as many as 120 species that may have gone extinct in recent decades (IUCN 2012; McCallum 2007; Stuart et al. 2004). Some regions have experienced more decline than others, and many amphibian populations in Central and South America have decreased. The implications of these declines are compounded by the biodiversity in this region, which is home to approximately half of the amphibian species in the world (Stuart et al. 2008). Costa Rica, with its size considered, has one of the highest diversities of amphibians in the world and the percentage of threatened species is comparable to global levels with 31% either extinct (1%), critically endangered (12%), endangered (12%) or vulnerable to extinction (7%) (IUCN 2012).