Wetter weather over summer has led to a local baby boom for a critically endangered frog species in northern New South Wales.
Australian Museum frog scientist Jodi Rowley identified 15 baby Booroolong frogs [Ranoidea booroolongensis] in a creek bed near Glen Innes in the New England Tablelands in late January. The species was rediscovered there in 2017 after a 40-year absence from the region, but numbers found have been low. She said the apparent baby boom was probably due to the La Niña weather pattern and would hopefully lead to a local resurgence of the species.
The Booroolong frog was discovered accidentally in 2017 when researchers were looking for two other critically endangered species, the peppered tree frog and the yellow-spotted bell frog.
“The biggest obstacle to frog conservation, apart from some of the threats, is that we really just don’t know that much about them,” she said. “Frogs are tricky and there’s just not that many frog biologists.”
Citizen scientists across Australia are helping frog conservation through the museum’s FrogID app. More than 13,000 people have recorded about 250,000 frog calls and their locations for the FrogID database.
“It’s been really amazing how much people have been ready to join the fight to save frogs, from landholders on enormous properties, from rangers out in the middle of nowhere, to people driving around the country in every walk of life recording frogs and making a huge contribution to Australia’s understanding of our amazing frog species,” Dr Rowley said.
“By having healthy frog populations on your property, including a diversity of species, it really indicates you have a healthy environment going,” she said.
Read more: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-27/la-nina-baby-boom-for-critically-endangered-booroolong-frog/13189178
Download the FrogID App: https://www.frogid.net.au/
