Human attitudes as threats in amphibians: the case of the Ornate Horned Frog (Ceratophrys ornata)

ABSTRACT

We analyzed the characteristics of the human-animal conflict coming from the attitudes that local communities have toward Ceratophrys ornata, focusing on two threats: aversion and pet trade. Surveys conducted in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay (n = 194) showed a strong aversion to this species (45% of respondents), causing the death of at least 364 individuals. This aversion was strongly linked to symbolism and folklore beliefs, and also influenced by gender and education level. Pet trade interviews (n = 30) showed that 77% of the specimens kept in captivity were wild-caught (≈178 individuals). The killing of specimens based on aversion might have impacts at local level, especially in populations occurring in recent urbanized areas. Our results also revealed that capture of specimens for pet trade is an ongoing process. Due to the context of illegality in which trade occurs, it is highly challenging to determine/predict the extent of impacts.

KEYWORDS:

• Aversion
• pet trade
• conservation
• environmental education
• neotropics

Acknowledgments

We give special thanks to people who kindly provided the surveys and interviews. We also thanks to Giant of the Pampas volunteers (Pablo Otero, Alexis Navarro, Andrea Fuentes, Paula Giménez, Sofia Fideleff, Ana López Etchevés, and Damián Fidanza) for field assistance. We would also like to thank Dr. Raúl Maneyro, Ignacio Lombardo, Dr. Andreas Kindel, MSc. Luis Fernando Marin da Fonte, MSc. Alexandre Krob, Natália Dallagnol Vargas, Marcelo Duarte Freire, Gabriele Volkmer, and Jamil Lívia Pereira for the assistance and collaboration with fieldwork in Uruguay and Brazil. Finally, we especially thank Walter Prado of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Argentina who provided essential information about anuran imports to Argentina

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Universidad de Buenos Aires [UBACYT GC 20020160100010BA], FONCyT [PICT 2016-0563], The Neotropical Grassland Conservancy under the Peter Rittenhouse Kellogg, Jr. Memorial Fund Grant Memorial-2018, The National Geographic Society under de Grant [NGS-56065C-19] and Amphibian Survival Alliance under the Grant [5362-ASA].