Madhushri Mudke
Amphibians are the most threatened vertebrates (tetrapods) on this planet. India is one of the countries with the greatest proportion of data-deficient and threatened species, most of them occurring in the Western Ghats, according to the 2nd Global Amphibian Assessment (Luedtke et al. 2023).
The Micrixalus genus (dancing frogs), endemic to the Western Ghats of India, is fifth on the list of the top ten threatened genera of the world. These frogs inhabit primary (first-to-third-order) freshwater streams with 70-80% canopy cover, within moist, evergreen, high-elevation (>265 meters above mean sea level) forests in the Western Ghats, including relic Myristica swamps and sacred groves managed actively by the community that resides near them. This project focuses on five species out of the 24 known species of dancing frogs. About 92% of this genus is threatened, and it is one of the most threatened genera in the Indomalayan realm.
Two males foot flagging. ©Samyamee.
My project aims to:
1. Add ecological information on five species of dancing frogs (namely Micrixalus kottigeharensis, M. niluvasei, M. uttaraghati, M. saxicola, and M. elegans in the Micrixalidae family) via extensive fieldwork in the moist evergreen forests and Myristica swamps of the Western Ghats of India.
2. Create a website to leverage more interest towards the Dancing Frog Project and reach a global audience.
3. Carry out effective educational workshops for students, the general public, and locals, giving them insights on conservation, anthropogenic threat reduction, and steps to help reduce biodiversity declines.
Overall, this project is a collaborative conservation research and education project that not only targets dancing frogs but also brings focus back on the critical habitats that still hold biodiversity. My team and I will bring together local people, students, and scientists for biodiversity conservation and education within the Western Ghats of India, also working beyond existing protected area boundaries.