Scientists from the Wildlife Institute of India studied the Assam Cascade Frog in two Himalayan streams of the Churdhar Wildlife Sanctuary to gain insights into how water flow impacts the presence and abundance of the species in Western Himalayan streams.
Source: The Hindu
About Assam Cascade Frog:
Its scientific name is Amolops formosus.
It is mainly distributed across the Himalayan belt in India and found in high-flowing and gradient streams of northern Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.
It can be used as an indicator species for the long-term monitoring of the condition of hilly streams.
The genus Amolops comprise 72 distinct species distributed throughout the hilly regions with fast-flowing streams in southern and Southeast Asia.
Amolops are highly adapted to fast-flowing hill streams because they have adhesive disks on the tips of their digits with circum-marginal grooves that help them stick to rocks and other substrates.
It is also known as Assam sucker frog, beautiful stream frog, Assam cascade frog, or hill stream frog.
Its IUCN Red List Status is Least Concern.
Churdhar Wildlife Sanctuary:
It is a tiny reserve on the foothills of Himalaya situated at the top of the Churdhar Peak.
It is located in the middle of alpine trees and green grassy pastures in the state of Himachal Pradesh.
It is renowned for being a habitat of herbal medicine trees and plants.
Wild Himalayan Cherry, Aloe Vera (Dhrit Kumari), and Amaranthus spinosus (Chulai) are some of the best aromatic plants which can be found here, and these herbs possess amazing medicinal properties.
The main trees in the sanctuary are oak and deodar.
Musk Dear, Barking Deer, Himalayan Black Bear, Leopards and Langur are found here.
Indicator species:
These are defined as species which can provide information on ecological changes and give early warning signals regarding ecosystem processes in site-specific conditions due to their sensitive reactions to them.
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