Aportes al conocimiento de la ecología de Atelopus balios (Anura: Bufonidae) en el Naranjal, Ecuador

Atelopus balios is a toad endemic to Ecuador, with a threatened category due to change in plant cover and environmental pollution. It is unknown about their populations and ecological interactions. This study discloses a baseline on population size and some ecological aspects. During October and November 2017, the population size of A. balios was estimated in a locality of Naranjal, foothills of the western mountain range, Ecuador. Two linear transects of 1000 meters were carried out in two rivers of the region, where two daytime sampling of capture-recapture was performed through visual encounter surveys, and photoidentification was used to estimate population size. Also there was evaluated its corporal size, population structure, used substrate, its activity, and its vertical and horizontal distribution. We obtained 32 records that correspond to 29 only individuals (T1 = 3 ind and T2 = 26 ind). The male/female ratio was 8.6:1. In T1, the population estimator could not be applied. In T2, 52.25±EE18.64 individuals were estimated. We found that 59.37% used leaf substrate, 75% had activity moving at the time of capture, its vertical distribution is between 20 and 250 cm high, its horizontal distribution was between 20 and 1000 cm. It is unknown about the presence of quitridium, but it is considered important to diagnose its presence and prevalence. Although the abundance in both transects varies, populations are considered stable and their fluctuation is normal. So it’s important to perform monitoring.