Environment | Unsung heroes
In a twist to the usual attention-grabbing headlines, Australian farm dams are now being called unsung heroes as they provide vital habitat to threatened frog species
Research recently published in Biological Conversation says that manmade ponds impounded by farm dams have become home to more than two-fifths of Australia’s surviving frog species. With many of them considered at risk globally due to habitat loss, climate change and other human- induced pressures, scientists and citizens have been working together to identify 107 different frog species at these dams across Australia.
After thousands of locals rallied to help out and use apps provided by the Australian Museum and Melbourne Water to record calling frogs and upload audio, more than 100,000 recordings were made near 8800 farm dam sites. After listening to these experts were able to identify different frog species, including some at risk of extinction such as growling grass frogs, green and golden bell frogs, Sloane’s froglet, and northern heath frogs.
Above: The endangered Growling Grass Frog from Southern Australia has been thriving at some of the country’s 1.8 million farm dams
The scientists also found distinct trends
Above: Farm dam in Victoria, Australia. Many of these are providing vital habitat for endangered frog species
in frog abundance. More frog species were found at dams older than 20 years, with a medium surface area around 0.1 hectares located in areas with high rainfall and intermediate temperatures. Medium sized dams were found to provide frogs with the ideal balance between protection from drying out and reduced danger from fish and reptile predators. While more frog species were found in dams close to rivers, lakes or conservation sites. As the scientists explained, leapfrogging between nearby wetlands is likely to be an important way for frogs to colonise farm dams. To help make farm dams more attractive
for native wildlife, researchers from the Sustainable Farms organisation have also released guides on how to manage and revegetate them to boost water quality and biodiversity. It is also thought that making farm dams more wildlife-friendly has the potential to become a cost-effective strategy as farmers and landholders could be given biodiversity credits. Although the authors of the research paper say this does not necessarily mean more farm dams should be encouraged, as they can cause water resources and habitat complications, they add that “as we continue to grapple with the biodiversity crisis” it makes sense to make the best use out of existing dams and create a haven for frogs.
References
https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science- tech/our-unsung-farm-dams-provide-vital- habitat-threatened-species-frogs
Summary of features inducing the highest and lowest frog species richness in farm dams in Australia
Credit to Malerba et al. Biological Conservation.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2023.110270
Martino E. Malerba, Jodi J.L. Rowley, Peter I. Macreadie, James Frazer, Nicholas Wright, Nayyar Zaidi, Asef Nazari, Dhananjay Thiruvady, Don A. Driscoll. Conserving nature’s chorus: Local and landscape features promoting frog species richness in farm dams, Biological Conservation, Volume 286, 2023, 110270, ISSN 0006-3207.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j. biocon.2023.110270
18 | January 2024 |
www.waterpowermagazine.com
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