Common Coqui

Description:

Habitat loss is a major threat to this species in particular clearance of the land for agriculture. The cause of the decline in the Palo Colorado Forest is chytridiomycosis probably linked to climate change. Rats and mongooses have been suggested as potential threats (as invasive predators) to Eleutherodactylus species in Puerto Rico (Hedges 1993), although literature on this subject is equivocal (Hedges 1993; and Thurley and Bell 1994, support the notion that these introduced species comprise threats to amphibian species, while Reagan and Waide 1996, suggest that rats are lesser predators of Eleutherodactylus coqui), and there is currently no consensus regarding the impact that these species may or may not have on amphibian declines in Puerto Rico. Future research efforts directed at investigating the impact of these invasive species on amphibian populations may help to establish their relative contribution to amphibian declines.