Leiopelma archeyi currently occurs in moist native forest, but this terrestrial species is not associated with running water. It lays small clutches of eggs in moist sites under rocks or logs. Eggs undergo direct development, with young hatching as small froglets. This species exhibits parental care, with tailed froglets spending several weeks on their father’s back immediately after hatching, where they complete metamorphosis (Bell 1985, Bishop et al. 2013). Long-term monitoring studies indicate its generation length is 15 years.

L. archeyi is found in the North Island, New Zealand, where the largest sub-populations are in the Coromandel Range. A smaller sub-population is also found in a 6 km² area of the Whareorino Forest in the west, from which a translocation sub-population was moved to Pureora Forest Park in the central North Island in 2006. 
These 3 sub-populations are thought to occur in 4 threat-defined locations. Its area of occupancy has been estimated as 1,376 km² and the extent of occurrence 13,881 km²; monitoring programmes have not recorded any evidence of ongoing decline in either value.

Conservation Action In Place

Through its Native Frog Recovery Group and 2013-2018 Native Frog Recovery Plan (Bishop et al. 2013), the NZ Department of Conservation (DOC) administers conservation management of this species and permits appropriate species research.

Invasive predator control programmes now mitigate the effects of non-native mammalian predators at some sites, although much of the range of this species remains in areas where no predator control programme is carried out.

In addition, an ex-situ population of L. archeyi is held at Auckland Zoo, who are making progress with captive husbandry techniques.

Conservation Needed

Expansion of non-native predator control would be of benefit to this species. Biosecurity protocols should continue to reduce the spread of disease between sites.

Monitoring of all sub-populations should continue.

Lack of public awareness of cryptic native frogs does not aid conservation efforts; increased public awareness of this species would be of benefit, particularly at sites where L. archeyi are found beyond protected habitats.

 

Research Needed

Research into the cause of the 1996 population decline is necessary so that an appropriate conservation response can be implemented; this research should be backed up with ongoing population monitoring efforts. Further research on basic life-history parameters is also required, which would be of great benefit for management when population modelling could be of assistance in conservation planning.

More research into the benefits of controlling non-native mammalian predators would be of benefit, so that this intervention can be implemented to maximum effect.

The effects of toxins, including herbicides and pesticides, is not well understood and further research into the subject would be of benefit for conservation management.    

Ongoing work to refine captive husbandry and breeding techniques needs to be maintained for the ex-situ populations to act as an effective insurance population.

Research has been carried out on the effects of chytrid fungus on this species, and this should continue so that information can feed into conservation planning.