Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41508253›Full record

ArticleBMC zoology2026

From least concerned to endangered? An integrated approach to determine the distribution, suitable habitat, and future of Dryophytes immaculatus.

Amaël Borzée, Xiaoli Zhang, Vishal Kumar Prasad, Ruiyang Wang, Zhenqi Wang, Shujie Qin, Kevin R Messenger, Taoran Guo, Yikweon Jang, Jiechen Wang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC zoology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Amaël BorzéeLaboratory of Animal Behaviour and Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, People's Republic of China. amaelborzee@gmail.com.
Xiaoli ZhangLaboratory of Animal Behaviour and Conservation, College of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, People's Republic of China.
Vishal Kumar PrasadLaboratory of Animal Behaviour and Conservation, College of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, People's Republic of China.
Ruiyang WangInstitute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing Botanical Garden Mem. Sun Yat-Sen, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
Zhenqi WangCollege of Biology and the Environment, The Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
Shujie QinJiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science and Technology, Key Laboratory for Land Satellite Remote Sensing Applications of Ministry of Natural Resources, School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, People's Republic of China.
Kevin R MessengerHerpetology and Applied Conservation Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, People's Republic of China.
Taoran GuoShanghai Tianyuan Ecological Technology Co., Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Yikweon JangDepartment of Life Sciences, Division of EcoScience, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 03760, Republic of Korea.
Jiechen WangJiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science and Technology, Key Laboratory for Land Satellite Remote Sensing Applications of Ministry of Natural Resources, School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, People's Republic of China.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China W2432021
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe immaculate treefrogs, Dryophytes immaculatus, were reported to be abundant in the plains of southern Jiangsu, China, until the 1980s. However, the species has scarcely been seen since the beginning of the century.

resultsWe conducted field surveys at more than 6000 independent sites between 2017 and 2025, citizen science surveys resulting in more than 1300 entries, and questioned farmers, when possible, to determine the occurence and presence of D. immaculatus. We detected the species at 210 independent sites, obtained 12 additional independent sites from the citizen science data, and confirmed its local extinction at eight additional sites. Based on the accumulated data, we applied a suite of species distribution models, including some with putative absence, to determine the current suitable habitat for D. immaculatus. Finally, we used models to predict future shifts in suitable habitats based on climate change scenarios. The current model identified suitable habitat in an area marginally broader than the one where the species is currently found. The climate change scenario models highlighted a shift in the location of the suitable habitat for all scenarios and time periods tested, with a weak overlap with the current distribution of the species. Based on the data accumulated, we could also apply the categories and criteria of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and we suggest the species to be listed as Endangered under both criteria B2ab (i, ii, iii, v) based on geographic range, and C2a (i) based on the small and declining population size.

conclusionThe range of D. immaculatus has contracted over the last decades, fast enough for people sharing their land with the species to remember them. In addition, the habitat suitable for the species keeps on declining, and it is predicted to entirely collapse in all future climatic scenarios. While not Critically Endangered yet, D. immaculatus is in need of conservation actions, especially to prevent future decline in habitat quality due to human activities.

Indexed as

Citizen scienceClimate change scenariosDistributionEcological niche modellingIUCN Red ListLocal extinctionSuitable habitatSurveys

Identifiers

PMID41508253
PMCPMC12781737

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.