Valley

Great Growling Pobblebonks

Tuesday 9 October, 2012
The Frogs and Farm Dams Project, a collaborative project between the Longwood East Landcare Group and the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority (CMA), has begun for 2012. The project includes planting in and around dams to increase frog and tadpole habitat, and recording which types of frogs are using the farm dams.Frogs identified from the acoustic recorders placed near seven dams include the Plains Froglet, Common Froglet, Plains Brown Froglet, Spotted Marsh Frog, Perons Tree Frog and some growling Pobblebonks.

The Frogs and Farm Dams Project, a collaborative project between the Longwood East Landcare Group and the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority (CMA), has begun for 2012. The project includes planting in and around dams to increase frog and tadpole habitat, and recording which types of frogs are using the farm dams.Frogs identified from the acoustic recorders placed near seven dams include the Plains Froglet, Common Froglet, Plains Brown Froglet, Spotted Marsh Frog, Perons Tree Frog and some growling Pobblebonks.

Environmental Water Project Officer, Ms Jo Wood, from the Goulburn Broken CMA was excited by the clear recording of growling Pobblebonks. "That's right' she said "Pobblebonks can growl! This species is best known for its disctinctive 'BONK!' however when there is a significant population of Pobblebonks, males become very territorial and start growling at each other".

This significant recording is being added to a library of frog calls that will be used to one day identify frogs automatically through computer voice recognition software.

"We are hoping to put the recorders out on a monthly basis until March to try and get a better idea of frog populations in the region" said Ms Wood.

The Longwood East Landcare group hopes that by adding habitat in and around dams they will increase the number and diversity of frogs in the area and that one day they will find a growling grass frog, a threatened species that has probably disappeared from the Strathbogie Ranges. Members planted many in-dam species on the weekend, including the native water lily and water ribbons, supplied by the Euroa Arboretum.

The Goulburn Broken CMA has also recently released an informative free App for iPhones and iPads called ' iSpy Frogs'.  iSpy Frogs App is a partnership project with Museum Victoria, based on their successful Museum Victoria App.

"Frogs can be hard to find and are great indicators of catchment health" explains Ms Wood, "the iPhone App also allows the community to more easily identify frog species as they all have distinctive calls"

iSpy Frogs has the added built-in feature to track sightings of frogs around the Goulburn Broken Catchment. The App allows users to log any frogs they have identified with the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority. This data will be collected by the Goulburn Broken CMA to help learn more about the distribution and abundance of frog species as well as to track the health of the catchment waterways and wetlands.

"As part of the Goulburn Broken CMA's commitment to engage more with youth, we have taken the opportunity to work with the Museum of Victoria on developing an iPhone App that can help identify frog species within the Goulburn Broken Catchment" explains Ms Wood.

If you would like more information about frogs and for information on frogs and how to make your dam frog friendly please contact Jo Wood from the Goulburn Broken CMA on 5820 1100.

 

 

The Goulburn Broken CMA acknowledges and respects First Nations people and the deep connection they have with their land and waters.


We acknowledge the Yorta Yorta and Taungurung people and their ancestors/forbears as Traditional Owners of the land and waters in the Goulburn Broken Catchment (and beyond). We value our ongoing partnerships with Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation and Taungurung Land and Waters Council for the health of Country and its people.


We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and acknowledge and recognise the primacy of Traditional Owners obligations, rights and responsibilities to use and care for their traditional lands and waters.

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