Evolutionarily significant units of the critically endangered leaf frog <i>Pithecopus ayeaye</i> (Anura, Phyllomedusidae) are not effectively preserved by the Brazilian protected areas network

Abstract

Abstract Protected areas ( PA s) are essential for biodiversity conservation, but their coverage is considered inefficient for the preservation of all species. Many species are subdivided into evolutionarily significant units ( ESU s) and the effectiveness of PA s in protecting them needs to be investigated. We evaluated the usefulness of the Brazilian PA s network in protecting ESU s of the critically endangered Pithecopus ayeaye through ongoing climate change. This species occurs in a threatened mountaintop ecosystem known as campos rupestres . We used multilocus DNA sequences to delimit geographic clusters, which were further validated as ESU s with a coalescent approach. Ecological niche modeling was used to estimate spatial changes in ESU s’ potential distributions, and a gap analysis was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the Brazilian PA s network to protect P. ayeaye in the face of climate changes. We tested the niche overlap between ESU s to gain insights for potential management alternatives for the species. Pithecopus ayeaye contains at least three ESU s isolated in distinct mountain regions, and one of them is not protected by any PA . There are no climatic niche differences between the units, and only 4% of the suitable potential area of the species is protected in present and future projections. The current PA s are not effective in preserving the intraspecific diversity of P. ayeaye in its present and future range distributions. The genetic structure of P. ayeaye could represent a typical pattern in campos rupestres endemics, which should be considered for evaluating its conservation status.