Una rana que se creía extinta asomó en páramos de Sígsig

Según una nota del 02 de septiembre de 2015 publicada en la Web del diario cuencano El Mercurio, tres individuos de la rana jambato (Atelopus bomolochos), supuestamente extinta hace 25 años, fueron identificados como tales, en mayo de este año, por los biólogos Ernesto Arbeláez, director del Centro de Conservación de Anfibios Amenazados del Zoológico Amaru (Cuenca), y Luis Coloma, especialista del Centro Jambatu (Quito).

Las ranas fueron encontradas en Cerro Negro, que es parte del Bosque Protector Moya Molón, ubicado en los páramos del cantón Sígsig (área del corredor Sangay – Podocarpus), páramos que Naturaleza y Cultura ayuda a conservar, ya que albergan fauna ya desaparecida en otras partes del país e importantes fuentes de agua. De hecho, se espera que hasta fines de 2015 Sígsig y otros cantones entren al Fondo del Agua para la Conservación de la Cuenca del Río Paute (FONAPA), que ha recibido apoyo financiero de Naturaleza y Cultura.

Este hallazgo generó otra nota, publicada el 31 de agosto de 2015 en la Web de National Geographic, escrita por Jennifer Holland, según la cual varios fueron los grupos que participaron en este redescubrimiento (entre ellos, Tropical Herping, el ya citado Amaru Zoo y la Universidad Indoamericana), mientras que el avistamiento inicial fue reportado por técnicos del Ministerio del Ambiente de Ecuador (MAE) y la Universidad del Azuay.

Holland sostiene que los anfibios hallados no mostraban señales de quítrido, hongo mortal que ha atacado duramente a esta especie, y que, combinado con otros factores, la ha llevado hasta la casi extinción. Pero la ausencia de ese hongo tampoco garantiza la supervivencia de la rana jambato, puesto que, para empezar, no se sabe mucho sobre su biología, excepto que su reproducción no es rápida.

De acuerdo a Juan Guayasamín, director del Centro de Investigación de la Biodiversidad y Cambio Climático de la Universidad Indoamericana, citado por Holland, la reproducción de esta rana, que ocurre en arroyos, y para la cual la hembra soporta al macho sobre su espalda, puede durar más de un mes, tiempo en el cual el macho no come. Holland añade que la destrucción del hábitat sigue siendo la mayor amenaza de las especies Atelopus y otros anfibios de Centro y Sudamérica.

Para el biólogo Fabián Rodas, coordinador del Programa Austro de Naturaleza y Cultura, la ausencia de truchas (peces no nativos) en el riachuelo que hay en el lugar del hallazgo, debido a barreras naturales, puede ser la causa de la supervivencia de esta rana, que depende de los cursos de agua para poner sus huevos.

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