Hear the Call and participate in Frog ID Week!

Published 10th November 2023. Written by Maddison O’Brien

FrogID Week is back, and it’s calling out to all urban dwellers and landowners with a smartphone and a love for our slimy, hopping friends! Hosted by the Australian Museum, FrogID Week is Australia’s most extensive frog count, and it’s a chance for you to play a crucial role in understanding and preserving these unique creatures and their ecosystems.

From November 3 to November 12, 2023, join the vibrant community of citizen scientists during the sixth annual FrogID Week and make a real impact on conserving these remarkable creatures.

Frogs are renowned for their unique sounds, and each species has its own distinct voice. Imagine being able to identify these calls and contribute to a nationwide effort to monitor frog health and distribution. With the free FrogID app, you can record the frogs around you, helping experts count Australia’s frog population and understand how these amphibians and their habitats are adapting to a changing world.

In New South Wales, we’re lucky to have a unique set of frog species found nowhere else in the world. One such species is the critically endangered Yellow-spotted tree frog (Litoria castanea). This large frog, reaching up to 9cm in length, features a striking bright green back with gold patches and a green stripe down the middle. Once common throughout the Tableland of NSW and the ACT, it has suffered a severe decline due to the amphibian chytrid fungus and is now only known from one small population in southeast NSW.

The potential to detect a species like the Yellow-spotted tree frog during FrogID Week is incredibly insightful for researchers. Your contribution could aid in the protection and preservation of these unique creatures for generations to come.

Initiatives like Frog ID Week have a track record of leading to miraculous rediscoveries of species thought to be extinct. In 2019, the Boorolong Frog was detected in the Northern Tablelands of NSW after being “missing” for 40 years. This highlights the vital role of citizen science initiatives and the real possibility of rediscovering species believed to be lost.

Frogs are ecological indicator species, sensitive to environmental changes and crucial for understanding and preserving ecosystem health. Your participation can help update data about local species, making it easier to protect them and ensure their survival into the future.

Getting involved is easy. Download the FrogID app from your smartphone’s app store or Google Play, explore its features, start recording frog calls for analysis, and engage with our vibrant community of frog enthusiasts.

This weekend, why not take a moment to find a place where there are frogs near you and have a listen, record it on the app and be amazed at the diversity of species around you. More info at frogid.net.au