William Jaggers (u6667998)

Word Count: 527

Imagine the scene: you drive up to an isolated, green field on the edge of Canberra. Frogs are calling in the distance, and as the sun sets, they get continually louder. As you walk towards the pond, a few sporadic calls become a chorus of Banjo frogs, plains froglets and spotted grass froglets. You pull out your clipboard and start recording the temperature, habitat structure and the species you can hear. After this, as the last licks of sunlight shine over the distant hillside, you sit quiet and make a three-minute recording, absorbing the chorus of calling as you do so.

The Beginning: A Sunset over site 1 (Source: William Jaggers)

I believe this description captures the essence of frog watching well; it’s relaxing and a great activity to do after a long day at uni or work. But frog watching isn’t just an opportunity to learn about frogs and their calls, it is an important citizen science project whereby you can contribute to a large bank of data about frog species richness and abundance.

Why Record Frog populations?

Inform Management

By recording habitat structure, weather, date, time and temperature, we are also allowing for any relationship between those variables and the abundance/richness in frog species to be taken into account. Finding these relationships can inform management. For example, we look at the width of unmown grasses that surround each pond. This can provide good data on the effects of mowing on frog populations, as the various sites have different level of impact from mowing. Say if the data displays a decrease in the frog population or a certain species due to mowing, that management can be altered to leave a wider area of unmown buffer around each pond.

Watch and find: A ‘Pobblebonk’ – Eastern Banjo Frog (Source: William Jaggers)

Examine long-term trends

During October, the frog census is completed to gauge frog populations in the ACT. Frogs are calling the most during October and especially after recent rain. However, the frog census has been changed to the whole month of October rather than one week – frogs are calling earlier, a phenomenon that is linked to climate change. Because frogwatch is a long-term survey, with data collection beginning in 2002, the long-term effects of climate change on frog populations can be assessed and the more years the survey runs for, the clearer the long-term trends will become.

Gauge Ecosystem Health

The species abundance and richness of frogs is a good indicator of ecosystem health. Simply put, if there are higher numbers and more types of frogs, the habitat for those frogs is far more complex and will therefore contain valuable habitat for other species. Certain frog species have been found to be correlated with mowing, water depth, emergent vegetation, pond type and canopy cover.

For me, any experience that enhances or fosters an appreciation of the natural environment is worthwhile; frogwatching has made me realise that there is a lot to learn about the environment surrounding Canberra, and volunteering through citizen science is a great opportunity to do it. If you would like to get involved go to https://ginninderralandcare.org.au/frogs/ and sign up.

 References:
HOEFER, A. M., and D. STARRS (2016) One pond fits all? Frogs as an indicator of urban wetland health. Final Report to Upper Murrumbidgee Waterwatch. Ginninderra Catchment Group, Canberra.

 BALDEN, L. 2020. How climate change has impacted frogs in Canberra. Canberra Times.

 HOEFER, A. M. 2015. Eavesdropping on frogs: Citizen science guiding wetland health management. Wetlands Australia.