Water-bug (<i>Abedus</i> SP.; Belostomatidae) Predation on the Critically Endangered <i>Atelopus varius</i> (Bufonidae) at Las Tablas Protected Zone, Costa Rica

Abstract

Atelopus varius was believed to be extinct in Costa Rica until the rediscovery of a population within the Las Tablas Protected Zone (LTPZ) in 2008. This rediscovery represented a research and conservation opportunity, including contributing new information about the species´ natural history. There are few reported species that prey on A. varius. This report presents a new predation record by a species of water bug (Abedus spp.) on an adult harlequin frog (A. varius). This is only the second confirmed predator for the species. These water bugs have been reported to prey on anurans during reproductive seasons, but in this case, the event occurred on A. varius out of their reproductive season. The effects of water bug predation on the only known reproductive population of this Critically Endangered species needs to be assessed to consider appropriate conservation measures to prevent further decline of the species.

Keywords

• Extinction
• harlequin frog
• trophic ecology