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# eDNA found Ecuador's Jambato frog—but only in a minority of water samples
- URL: https://intelligence.wildlandseco.com/2026-09-15-jambato-edna-low-density-detection/
- Published: 2026-09-15T14:01:34.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T14:01:34.000Z
- Description: At the critically endangered frog's only known locality, wet-season eDNA detections show promise for low-density monitoring while also exposing substantial nondetection risk.
- Author: Benjamin Worlund
- Tags: Jambato, Atelopus ignescens, edna, amphibian monitoring, ecuador, Wildlife, Water, Methods, #ecological-intelligence, #brief-2026-09-15, #global-radar, #peer-reviewed, #geo-latin-america-caribbean

Evidence

Peer-reviewed

Geography

Angamarca, Ecuador

System

Andean streams and critically endangered amphibian habitat

## WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS

A year of intensive field surveys recorded 71 Jambato frogs, including six tadpoles, at the species' only known locality. Targeted eDNA sampling detected the frog in 5 of 18 water samples, all during the wet season and often near tadpole habitat.

## WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ

For rare-species surveillance, eDNA can extend detection beyond visual encounters, but absence from a sample is not strong evidence of absence from the site. Season, life stage and sampling design remain part of the observation process.

## CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY

Detection probability was low and seasonally concentrated, and the study concerns one remnant population. Results support eDNA as a complementary tool, not a stand-alone census or proof that nondetections indicate local extinction.

## SOURCE

Conservation Science and Practice · Original evidence  
[View original evidence ↗](https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/csp2.70414?ref=intelligence.wildlandseco.com)

From the Morning Brief · 2026-09-15

[Read the full Morning Brief →](https://intelligence.wildlandseco.com/morning-brief-2026-09-15/)