Your mobile phone this week could help the Australian Museum in its research into frogs – this little amphibian species have been having a tough time.
It’s FrogID Week until November 21 and the museum needs the help of people to record the sounds of frogs so researchers can assess and gain a better understanding of the different species.
More than 240 frog species are under threat from climate change, bushfires, floods, habitat loss and degradation, and disease.
The FrogID program has been running for four years and in that time more than 460,000 records of 205 different frog species have been verified and made available to scientists, land-managers and the public thanks to tens of thousands of Australians
Dr Jodi Rowley, Lead Scientist for FrogID, and Curator of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Biology at the Australian Museum and UNSW Sydney (The University of NSW), says this FrogID Week is critical in helping Australia’s frogs.
“Our frogs are suffering – they are sensitive to environmental change and this year they are dying in large numbers,” said Dr Jodi Rowley, lead scientist for FrogID, and curator of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Biology at the Australian Museum and UNSW Sydney.
“We need the help of people all over Australia to record frog calls so we can understand the health of our frog populations across the country. We need everyone recording calls in their backyards, in bushland, in paddocks, around dams, in remote outback areas, in rainforests, on mountain slopes and on farmland,” she said.
“We need an army of citizen scientists to get on board this November and help us to help our frogs,” Dr Rowley said.
For more information and to download the app visit: https://www.frogid.net.au/frog-id-week
