Credit: Fundación Somuncurá
Nestled among the rocky plains of the Somuncurá Plateau in Argentina, the headwaters of the Valcheta Stream are heated year-round by hot springs, even when outside temperatures plummet below freezing. Here, in the depths of these warm waters, a tiny frog is beginning to thrive once again.
The Critically Endangered El Rincon Stream Frog (Pleurodema somuncurense) is a unique species found nowhere else on earth. Measuring at just 38mm long, it spends its life in the shallow, slow-moving waters, often hidden among the vegetation. But its aquatic home is under serious threat from habitat loss, the impact of livestock and invasive species, leaving the frog as one of the most endangered amphibians worldwide.
Now, our partner Fundación Hábitat y Desarrollo (FHD) have made amazing progress in recovering its population. So far, they have seen a 15% increase in the numbers of the El Rincon Stream Frog – an incredible achievement!
Our partner’s crucial work protecting the El Rincon Stream Frog has brought the species back from the brink of extinction. Credit: Fundación Somuncurá
FHD, in collaboration with Fundación Somuncurá, have achieved this through long-term conservation activities in the Somuncurá Plateau Reserve. Out in the field, by the stream’s rocky banks, the team have installed fences to protect key habitat from livestock and restored vegetation to create sanctuaries for the endemic species living in the stream. They’ve also been installing crucial fish barriers to remove invasive species like the Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and Uruguay Tetra (Cheirodon interruptus).
The increasing population of the El Rincon Stream Frog is proof that the team’s hard work restoring this fragile habitat is working.
FHD and Fundación Somuncurá are working to restore the aquatic habitat of the Plateau to benefit the El Rincon Stream Frog and other endemic species, like the Naked Characin (a Critically Endangered fish). Credit: Fundación Somuncurá
Buy an Acre supporters have played a crucial role in funding land at the Somuncurá Plateau Reserve, and this species news is testament to the impact protecting land has on conservation. The land secured through Buy an Acre really was the first step of a journey that is now allowing FHD to save threatened species.
For FHD and Fundación Somuncurá the work now continues, spurred on by the news that Federico Kacoliris, project leader of Fundación Somuncurá, has just won the prestigious Whitley Award. The award win will provide extra funding and allow more pioneering work to protect the El Rincon Stream Frog and other threatened species sharing the waters of this remarkable region.
To find out more about our Buy an Acre programme and how you can help, click here.
