Inter-Research > ESR > v9 > n2 > p117-124  
ESR
Endangered Species Research

via Mailchimp

ESR 9:117-124 (2010)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00231

Potential distribution of threatened Leptopelis spp. (Anura, Arthroleptidae) in Ethiopia derived from climate and land-cover data

Frank Weinsheimer1, Abebe A. Mengistu2, Dennis Rödder3,*

1Herpetology Department, Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Adenauer Allee 160, 53113 Bonn, Germany
2Department of Environmental Sciences, Institute of Biogeography, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 27, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
3Biogeography Department, Trier University, Am Wissenschaftspark 25-27, 54296 Trier, Germany
*Corresponding author. Email:

ABSTRACT: Ethiopia harbours 9 species of threatened amphibians, all of which inhabit the highlands. Over the last decades, there has been a rapid increase in deforestation and habitat degradation in Ethiopia, with the result that the last undisturbed refuges for forest-dwelling anurans in the mountain areas have shrunk noticeably, especially outside of protected areas. In the present study, we used a maximum entropy ecological niche modelling approach to model the potential distribution of 2 poorly known Leptopelis species. The models were derived from climate and land cover data at known occurrences of the species (i.e. data from a number of natural history museums). These models can be used to select the priority areas most critical for future protection and may guide further field surveys to accelerate the discovery of unknown populations.


KEY WORDS: Ecological niche modeling · Maxent · Threatened species · Amphibia · Biodiversity hotspot


Full text in pdf format
Cite this article as: Weinsheimer F, Mengistu AA, Rödder D (2010) Potential distribution of threatened Leptopelis spp. (Anura, Arthroleptidae) in Ethiopia derived from climate and land-cover data. Endang Species Res 9:117-124. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00231

Export citation
Share:    Facebook - - linkedIn

 Previous article Next article