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ANIMALSO
Breeding

Scinax alcatraz Conservation: Why the Alcatrazes Frog Is Vulnerable and How It Is Protected

Scinax alcatraz lives only on Brazil’s Ilha dos Alcatrazes. Its bromeliad-restricted life cycle, tiny 1.80 km² range and exposure to events such as lightning-caused fire explain the conservation concern, while ICMBio’s refuge provides protection without yet establishing a population trend.

By Animalso Team 8 min read

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Scinax alcatraz, commonly called the Alcatrazes frog, is a tiny-range frog found only on Ilha dos Alcatrazes in Brazil’s Alcatrazes Archipelago, off São Paulo. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is not the authority cited here; the formal category discussed below is ICMBio’s Vulnerable (VU) assessment dated 29 September 2017. Its conservation challenge is unusually concentrated: the entire known range is one island with an extent of occurrence of 1.80 km², and the frog’s life cycle is restricted to bromeliads. A fire or another severe event on that island could therefore affect a large share of the species at once.

What makes the Alcatrazes frog vulnerable?

Scinax alcatraz is an island endemic. ICMBio’s species record says it occurs only on Ilha dos Alcatrazes, the main island of the Alcatrazes Archipelago, in Brazil’s São Paulo state. It is not a frog with a broad mainland distribution and a few isolated records; the documented extent of occurrence is the island’s total area, 1.80 km². The area actually occupied by suitable sites is smaller.

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That geographic restriction creates a form of concentration risk. A storm, fire, disease event or other disturbance that would affect only a fraction of a widespread species’ range could reach a substantial proportion of this frog’s habitat on Alcatrazes. ICMBio’s 2017 rationale specifically identifies stochastic events, including lightning-caused fires, as hazards capable of rapidly worsening the species’ status.

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The frog is also bromelicolous: the 2011 ICMBio action-plan book describes its life cycle as restricted to bromeliads. Bromeliads can hold water and provide the small, humid spaces used by some island amphibians, so damage to bromeliad-bearing habitat can matter directly to reproduction and development. This does not establish that planting bromeliads anywhere, without the right species, substrate, microclimate and protection, is a proven intervention for Scinax alcatraz.

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“Endangered” is often used in ordinary conversation for a species facing serious risk. When precision matters, use the formal record: ICMBio assessed Scinax alcatraz as Vulnerable (VU) on 29 September 2017.

Formal status: current record versus older classifications

Different ICMBio documents contain different category labels because they refer to different assessment periods. The SALVE species assessment displays Vulnerable (VU), with the category date 29 September 2017. An older management-plan table reproduces Critically Endangered entries from earlier sources. Those labels should not be blended or treated as evidence that the frog recently recovered.

Record Category or information How to interpret it
Earlier sources reproduced in the 2017 management-plan publication Critically Endangered entries Historical classifications; the table does not by itself establish the present category.
ICMBio SALVE species assessment, category dated 29 September 2017 Vulnerable (VU) The formal assessment date and category available in the cited species record.

The material available for this account does not establish a newer reassessment than the displayed 2017 category date. A careful description is therefore “Vulnerable (VU) in ICMBio’s 2017 assessment,” rather than “newly reassessed” or “recovered.”

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Where the frog lives

One island, one exceptionally small range

Ilha dos Alcatrazes is the main island of the archipelago and the only location identified by ICMBio for Scinax alcatraz. The 1.80 km² extent-of-occurrence figure is a geographic measure, not a count of frogs or a statement that every square metre is suitable habitat. The assessment also says the area of occupancy is smaller, reflecting the fact that the frog uses particular places rather than the entire island uniformly.

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Bromeliads are part of the life cycle

The action-plan description that the life cycle is restricted to bromeliads is more specific than saying the frog merely “likes plants.” Conservation decisions must account for the bromeliad communities, rock surfaces, moisture conditions and shelter that make those plants usable. The cited documents do not identify a validated programme in which household bromeliad cultivation increases the wild population, so ex-situ gardening should not be presented as a substitute for protecting the island.

Threats that matter at island scale

Stochastic fire

ICMBio’s assessment highlights fire, including lightning-caused fire, as a stochastic threat. “Stochastic” means an event whose timing and occurrence are unpredictable, not that its consequences are minor. On a 1.80 km² island, a single severe fire could remove bromeliad habitat and refuges across a large share of the range in a short time. The assessment warns that such an event could rapidly worsen the species’ conservation status.

Site-specific human pressure in the historical record

The assessment’s rationale says the Brazilian Navy no longer conducted target practice on the rocky wall at Saco do Funil, the island location with the greatest bromeliad concentration, as of 2013. This is a specific historical change at a named site. It should not be expanded into a claim that every military impact ended, that all disturbance has disappeared, or that current pressures are fully known.

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Unknowns that affect risk decisions

The cited material does not provide a population count, a population trend, a current estimate of adult survival or recruitment, or a species-specific measurement of fire frequency. Without those data, it is not possible to state whether the wild population is increasing, stable or declining. The small range and habitat dependence justify caution, but they do not supply a missing population statistic.

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What protection does the island have?

Alcatrazes Wildlife Refuge

In 2016, the island became part of the Alcatrazes Wildlife Refuge, a federal conservation unit administered by ICMBio. The refuge’s official visitor information describes it as a federal protected area created in 2016 and managed by the institute. The designation provides a legal and institutional framework for planning, enforcement, habitat management and controlled public use.

Protected-area status is important, but it is not the same as proof of a species-level recovery. A refuge can reduce some pressures while leaving stochastic fire, biological invasions, climate effects or gaps in monitoring unresolved. For Scinax alcatraz, the relevant question is how effectively protection maintains bromeliad-bearing habitat and responds to events across the frog’s entire island range.

Management and enforcement activity

ICMBio’s refuge page reports 2024 operational figures: 175 field days, 109 enforcement days, 5.274 tonnes of invasive sun coral removed and 1,181 visitors. These numbers describe activity for the refuge as a whole. They are not frog-specific surveys, do not measure Scinax alcatraz abundance and cannot be used to calculate a population trend.

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Conservation planning and ex-situ context

National action planning

According to Alcatrazes management-plan material, ICMBio created the National Action Plan for Insular Herpetofauna in 2009. The 2011 action-plan book includes Scinax alcatraz and records its bromeliad-restricted life cycle. Inclusion in an action plan signals that the species is part of a broader planning framework; it does not, by itself, document that every proposed action has been completed.

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Educational work at São Paulo Zoo

A 2020 Amphibian Conservation Needs Assessment workshop record notes action-plan inclusion and an educational group at São Paulo Zoo. This is useful historical context for public education and conservation planning. The record is dated and does not confirm that the group still exists, that captive numbers are current, or that zoo activity has produced a measured change in the wild population.

How scientists should measure progress

A credible conservation programme needs measurements tied to the frog rather than only to the refuge. Useful components would include:

  • Site occupancy: repeated surveys of bromeliad-bearing sites to determine where the frog is detected and whether occupied locations are being lost or regained.
  • Life-stage evidence: records of adults, calling activity, eggs, tadpoles and metamorphs, because presence of one life stage alone may not show successful reproduction.
  • Habitat condition: mapping bromeliad abundance, health, water-holding structures and the surrounding microclimate.
  • Fire preparedness and response: documenting ignition sources, burned area, response time and post-fire bromeliad recovery.
  • Health surveillance: checking for amphibian diseases or die-offs, with results reported separately from general refuge enforcement.
  • Long-term consistency: repeating methods over multiple seasons so a single visit is not mistaken for a trend.

None of these measurements should be inferred from the 2024 refuge totals. They are the kinds of species-focused evidence needed before claiming that conservation has improved the frog’s status.

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Chronology of the conservation case

Year Documented development Why it matters
2009 ICMBio created the National Action Plan for Insular Herpetofauna. Established a planning framework for island reptiles and amphibians.
2011 ICMBio’s action-plan book described Scinax alcatraz as bromelicolous, with a life cycle restricted to bromeliads. Defines the species’ unusually specific habitat dependence.
2013 The assessment states that Brazilian Navy target practice no longer occurred at the Saco do Funil rocky wall, where bromeliads were especially concentrated. Documents a site-specific historical change, not the end of every possible disturbance.
2016 Alcatrazes Wildlife Refuge was created as a federal conservation unit administered by ICMBio. Added a protected-area framework for the island and surrounding archipelago.
2017 ICMBio assessed the frog as Vulnerable (VU) on 29 September and recorded an extent of occurrence of 1.80 km². Provides the dated formal category and range figure.
2020 A workshop record noted action-plan inclusion and a São Paulo Zoo educational group. Shows documented conservation and education activity at that time; present status is not established.
2024 The refuge page reported field, enforcement, invasive-sun-coral-removal and visitor totals. Shows refuge operations, not a Scinax alcatraz population result.

Can people visit Alcatrazes responsibly?

ICMBio visitor information says activities are conducted through tourism companies registered with ICMBio Alcatrazes. Private boats are accompanied by trained, authorized guides, and visitors are directed to consult the official visitation rules and guidance. These arrangements matter because a frog restricted to one island can be affected by trampling, handling, unapproved landing or disturbance of bromeliad habitat even when individual visitors have good intentions.

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Visitors should follow the guide’s instructions, remain on authorized routes or sites, avoid touching frogs and bromeliads, carry out all waste and never collect wildlife or plants. Do not release captive amphibians, move bromeliads between islands or treat a tourism visit as a conservation survey. Only authorized personnel using approved methods should handle animals or record scientific data.

What is known—and what is not

Question Evidence available What cannot responsibly be claimed
Where does it occur? Only Ilha dos Alcatrazes is identified; extent of occurrence is 1.80 km². A larger mainland range or additional islands.
How many frogs are there? No population count appears in the cited material. A total number, density or captive population.
Is it increasing or declining? The assessment identifies vulnerability and stochastic risk. A current population trend or recovery.
What habitat does it need? The life cycle is described as restricted to bromeliads. That general bromeliad planting alone is proven to restore the species.
Does the refuge protect it? The island is within a federal refuge created in 2016. That designation alone guarantees a favorable outcome.
What is its formal category? Vulnerable (VU), ICMBio assessment dated 29 September 2017. That the category is newly reassessed, or that older Critically Endangered labels describe the same assessment.

Why this small frog matters to island conservation

Scinax alcatraz illustrates why island conservation cannot rely on range size alone. A species may occupy a landscape that looks substantial on a map yet remain exposed when all individuals depend on a few habitat features in one place. Its bromeliad-restricted life cycle links frog protection to plant communities, rock substrates, moisture and fire management. Its case also shows why protected-area statistics, historical management changes and species monitoring must be kept distinct.

The practical priority is continuity: maintain the island’s bromeliad habitat, prevent avoidable disturbance, prepare for fire and other sudden events, and publish repeatable frog-specific monitoring. Until those data are available, the most accurate conclusion is measured rather than dramatic: Scinax alcatraz has a highly restricted distribution and specialized life cycle, is listed as Vulnerable in ICMBio’s 2017 assessment, and benefits from the Alcatrazes Wildlife Refuge, but its current population size and trend remain undocumented in the cited records.

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Alcatrazes frogamphibian conservationBrazil wildlifebromeliadsICMBioisland endemicsScinax alcatraz

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