FROG ID WEEK, led by the Australian Museum Centre for Citizen Science, runs from 11-20 November 2022.

FrogID is Australia’s national frog count, a scientific rescue mission that everyone can be involved in.

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One of the biggest obstacles facing frog conservation programs is a lack of knowledge about these species, the threats they face and how to help them.

That’s where citizens come in to help with the science.

It all hinges on downloading the free FrogID app onto a smartphone to record the unique calls of different frog species.

These calls are often the most accurate way to identify frog species in the wild, particularly as many frogs look very similar.

The Australian Museum has a team of frog experts that listens to all recordings submitted through the FrogID app.

This team identifies the different frog species heard in the recording and provides feedback to the FrogID participant.

Using the app to record and upload frog calls captures information about different species, their locations and breeding habitats, without the need for handling these sensitive animals.

The app will also automatically apply time, geolocation and location accuracy data, using the smartphone’s GPS technology.

Recording and uploading these unique calls through the FrogID app informs where frogs are most at risk from threats such as habitat loss, disease, climate change and urbanisation which can inform future conservation efforts and is helping track the spread of the Cane Toad, an introduced species that has devastating impacts on native wildlife.

FrogID is identifying frog ‘hotspots’, areas with many frogs or many species of frog, and determining what makes them so frog friendly.

Local Coffs Coast frog fan Narelle Swanson told News Of The Area, “The Frog ID citizen science program is so good for everyone young and old.

“All you need to have is your mobile phone and the skill to use it to take great sound recordings.

“In our changing world climate, the power of many people to collect the masses of data that really helps scientific research is something so worthwhile that anybody can do.

“It’s also great for the individual young and old to be outside and observe nature.

“It is amazing what you can hear when you stop and listen to the world around you.”

Narelle’s interest in frogs began 30 years ago at home in Bonville.

“It was in the days when the only way to identify a frog properly was to look it up in a book and where there were not many illustrations or photos.

“My favourite frog at Bonville was the green tree frog.

“They spent the day under the roof and emerged at dusk, plopped to the ground then made their way to the kitchen windowsill where they feasted on the insects that collected there because of the light being on inside.

“I had one I called Boomerang because it had a white boomerang-shaped marking on its side.”

Boomerang came back over six years but disappeared along with many frogs when a killer fungus spread up and down the East Coast.

Narelle now lives further out and has to go no further than the verandah to record the frogs around her house and sometimes down to a nearby creek.

“I’m really enjoying rediscovering frogs, especially my favourite green tree frog.

Narelle thought she had four species of frog near her home, now she’s up to 15 with the help of the Frog ID app.

The FrogID dataset is checked, cleaned, and re-released on an annual basis.

The data is made available for conservation and land-management decisions through the FrogID website, the Atlas of Living Australia, the Global Biodiversity Research Information Facility, and Government State Atlases across Australia.

This information helps scientists and land-managers develop guidelines for building or ‘fixing’ habitats, particularly in suburban landscapes, to make them more supportive of frogs.

For more information visit www.frogid.net.au/science.

By Andrea FERRARI