The Dusky Gopher Frog (Rana sevosa) is an IUCN Critically Endangered species native to the southern Coastal Plain of the United States, but which has been reduced to only one known population. Several measures have been adopted to conserve the species including captive breeding with artificial fertilization paired with reintroductions. Roznik and Reichling (2020) evaluated reintroduction methods for the species to maximize these efforts by radio-tracking released individuals. They found relatively high survival rates (76%) for released juveniles with higher survival rates for individuals released near burrows in fire-maintained habitats than individuals released near ponds. On average, individuals released near ponds also traveled further, likely reflecting their longer search for suitable shelter. Sheltering underground improved survival rates by 22%. Although long-term monitoring is still needed, these findings provide optimistic evidence that artificial fertilization and captive rearing has minimal effects on the species' ability to successfully transition to native habitat as long as suitable fire-maintained, open-canopy long-leaf pine forest habitat is available.
