The onset of October means it’s ‘Frogtober’ too and Melbourne Water is encouraging citizen scientists to get involved by recording and submitting frog calls.
The frog calls can be uploaded on the free frog census app which was launched by Melbourne Water in 2016 and averages 1700 frog call submissions per year.
“Usually, we tell people to disengage from technology when they’re enjoying the natural environment, but during ‘Frogtober’, we want them to take their phone to their local creek or waterway and use the app to help us collect valuable environmental data,” said Melbourne Water ecologist and waterwatch coordinator Jane Petch.
Each frog call submitted will be analysed by an ecologist before being added to a statewide database.
Ms Petch explained what it would then be used for.
“The data we gather via the frog census app inform Melbourne Water’s decisions about waterways and environment projects.”
The frog census was initiated in 2001 and has historically focussed on recording frog calls in metro Melbourne during April, August, October and November when frogs are most active.
“Frogs can be found all over Melbourne and regional Victoria and can be heard calling from where water is found in bushland, parks and gardens, and urban areas,” said Ms Petch.
As an ‘indicator species’, frogs are considered crucial to understanding the health of the environment due to their sensitivity to environmental changes in water and land and being an important part of the food chain.
Ms Petch says frog populations were under threat, and many species were disappearing.
“Collecting frog data allows us to take action when species are threatened and hopefully reverse the decline through targeted conservation efforts like revegetation or water quality improvement.”
Participants don’t need to be frog experts to participate, just download the frog census app and get recording.
www.melbournewater.com.au/education/citizen-science/frog-census
