COOPA22048 - Código de Barras de ADN de anfibios amen

In this project we aim to establish a reference database through the collection of both specimen vouchers and non-destructive genetic samples to assess and monitor amphibian diversity. The study area is the Eastern Afromontane region of Tanzania, a Sub-Saharan Africa biodiversity hotspot (Rovero, et al. 2014). This hotspot is rich in biodiversity, only partially known, and is highly threatened by habitat destruction and fragmentation and climate change (Burgess, et al. 2007). The exceptional and global importance of these mountains is widely acknowledged, particularly for endemic vertebrates (Rovero, et al. 2014). One specific vertebrate group that has received recent attention are the amphibians. This is mainly due to notable examples of the decline and extinction of species in the wild, both in this area (Nahonyo et al. 2017 – Nectophrynoides asperginis), as well as globally (Beebee and Griffith 2005). It is all the more worrying given that we still know relatively little about the true diversity of amphibians in this region. Molecular studies on particular frog groups are repeatedly confirming the existence of hidden diversity (Liedtke et al. 2017), but revising taxonomy is made difficult by the fact that historic, name-bearing type specimens have not been genetically barcoded. Recent advancements in technics for extracting and sequencing such “archival DNA” are looking extremely promising for recovering at least mitochondrial markers from museum specimens, even ones stored in formalin (Lyra et al. 2020; Rancilhac et al. 2020; Straube et al. 2021)