Changes in the composition of mountain stream frog communities in the Atlantic mountains of Brazil: Frogs as indicators of environmental deteriorations?

Abstract

Observations during the past 15 years on mountain stream breeding frogs in the Atlantic Mountains around Santa Teresa in the State of Espirito Santo, Brazil, indicate that some species, in particular the Hylodinae and Cycloramphus fuliginosus, have disappeared after 1981. The most likely causes for these extinctions were some extremely dry winters. However, similar extinctions reported by Heyer et al. (1988) from the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo suggest that there might be an unknown common underlying cause, and the acidity of the stream water makes acid rain one of the possible causes.