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Threatened Australian Frogs
There are about 208 species (or kinds) of frogs in Australia.
Of these:
4 species are presumed extinct,because none have been found for so long,
15 species are endangered,
12 species are vulnerable (meaning they may soon become endangered).
Australia's most endangered frog
Many
of these frogs were once considered common.
Frog populations all around the world as well as in Australia are getting smaller at an alarming rate.
Frogs are the first to be affected by a polluted environment - they are affected by pollution of water, land and air because they live on land and in the water, and they breathe through
their skin. They are also affected by loss of habitat, particularly
those species that live in very particular habitats, such as a
specific mountain for example.
How can we
help our threatened frog species?
When visiting national parks and other wild areas, take care not to damage habitats or pollute the environment. Make sure your visits are 'low impact', which means when you leave, it should be almost as if you had never been. This will help protect the habitats of all native species,
not just frogs.
Help efforts to save threatened species in your local area: join
organisations such as 'Friends of...' groups, Landcare, Australian
Trust for Conservation Volunteers.
Join in special events such as 'Clean Up Australia', tree planting, weed eradication. This helps reduce pollution in their habitats.
Make
a frog habitat in your garden.
Loss of
habitat is a major threat to frogs. Making a frog bog in the garden
can help make a difference.
Your frog bog needs shallow water and deeper water (at least 30cm deep) so that tadpoles can find cool spots. Altogether, you need at least 1 cubic metre of water at least so the tadpoles don't get crowded. Set it up in a partly shady spot so that sunlight can help algae grow in the water to feed the tadpoles. Leaves from trees and shrubs nearby fall into the water, sink to the bottom and decompose, also providing food for tadpoles. Do not put floating plants like duckweed in the water because they can take oxygen out, making it hard for the tadpoles to breathe.
Adult frogs need shelter surrounding the pool: rocks, leaf litter, shrubs, low plants and logs.
Do not put fish
in the pond: most eat tadpoles!
Keep cats out of the frog habitat: they eat frogs!
Don't spray the bugs: frogs eat them!
You won't need
to catch frogs or tadpoles to put in the habitat (in some
states this is illegal), as they may be the wrong species
for your area. Frogs will find their own way to your frog friendly
habitat.
These sites are about how to make a frog friendly environment
http://www.ipcc.ie/frogfriendly.html
http://www.thefrogbog.com/helpful_hints.asp
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/wildlife/frogs.html
Other kidcyber recommended pages:
Click
here to
find out about Australia's most endangered frog, the Corroboree
frog
Go
here for a kidcyber
information page and a kidcyber activity page about the frog life cycle
Click here to find out about other Australian frog species
Click here to read more about the basic frog life cycle and
frog's adaptation to living on land and in water
Click here to find some interesting frogs around the world.
You can click onto the Frog Life Cycle link too.
Click
here to
find out about the Blue Mountains tree frog
If you use
any of this information in your own work acknowledge this source
in your bibliography like this:
Threatened Australian
Frogs (2000). [Online], Available: www.kidcyber.com.au
updated July 2006