Frogs

[Chris Willis]

We have been puzzled by the sound of many frogs in our garden for a long time, but we never see any....they sound like they're underground. AS we get closer so the sound gets very loud.....but I've yet to spy any frogs in our garden...even though we do have a pond. Can anyone help me with this. I think I must be very ignorant about the life of frogs;)

[eco4560]

They can be very small (size of your little fingernail), and brown speckled colours - which make them hard to see when they are against a similar background. And of course - if you have a loud voice like that and don't want to be prey then you are really good at making sure no one can see you.

Enjoy the symphony.

[Chris Willis]

Thanks for that :-) You have solved the mystery....much appreciated!

[Grasshopper]

Put in your location have a listen and you will work out what frog it is
http://www.frogsaustralia.net.au/frogs/millsap.cfm

[Pakanohida]

I find them under logs, amongst dense grasses, under piles of leaves and so on. You will be amazed at the all the places you start finding them once you start spotting them.

[annette]

I went to an education night about frogs about a year ago. The guy (who was an expert in frogs) gave a talk about the different types of frogs found in my area. He explained to find frogs it could be very difficult because they throw their voices. He and two other experts form a sort of triangle and move around when the voice is heard from the three different spots. Eventually if they are lucky they find it. This guy had the best frog imitiation calls you can imagine.

I also have hundreds of tadpoles that seem very reticient to grow legs. They seem content to sit in the bottom of my disused pool. So I have been topping it up to keep them happy. Rang the frog society and they said they can stay as tadpoles for years and I should let the pool dry out as sometimes this can spark them to grow legs. Sort of like a survival mechanism.

[annette]

Hey thanks Grasshopper, that is a great site!

[briansworms]

I have a turtle pond and now and then when I am tinkering around up there I see frogs. I hear them but it seems to come from over the back fence and never from the pond area. At night I often see what I asume is a frog take off in the water.

[juhill]

It can be so cold and dry here at times that we are amazed at the number of frogs here, I quite often dig them up while planting things and I feel terrible when I chop one :(
We have frogs living in the car here

[Michaelangelica]

Effects of herbicides and the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis on the health of post-metamorphic northern leopard frogs (Lithobates pipiens).
Paetow L.J., Daniel McLaughlin J., Cue R.I., Pauli B.D., Marcogliese D.J.
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 80 (pp 372-380), 2012.

Publisher
Academic Press (24-28 Oval Road, London NW1 7DX, United Kingdom)

AB Effects of exposure to contaminants such as pesticides along with exposure to pathogens have been listed as two major contributors to the global crisis of declining amphibian populations.
These two factors have also been linked in explanations of the causes of these population declines. We conducted a combined exposure experiment to test the hypothesis that exposure to two agricultural herbicides would increase the susceptibility of post-metamorphic northern leopard frogs (Lithobates pipiens) to the amphibian fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). We assessed the independent and interactive effects of these exposures on the health and survival of the frogs. Wild-caught frogs underwent a 21-day exposure to a nominal concentration of either 2.1mug/L atrazine (Aatrex Liquid 480) or 100muga.e./L glyphosate (Roundup Original), followed by Bd, and then were observed until 94 days post-initial exposure to the herbicides. Actual levels of atrazine were between 4.28+/-0.04mug/L and 1.70+/-0.26mug/L while glyphosate degraded from 100muga.e./L to approximately 7muga.e./L within 6 days of initial exposure to the herbicides. Compared to controls, the glyphosate formulation reduced the snout-vent length of frogs during the pesticide exposure (at Day 21), and the atrazine formulation reduced gain in mass up to Day 94. No treatment affected survival, splenosomatic or hepatosomatic indices, the densities and sizes of hepatic and splenic melanomacrophage aggregates, the density and size of hepatic granulomas, proportions of circulating leucocytes, the ratio of neutrophils to lymphocytes, or the ratio of leucocytes to erythrocytes. Histological assessment of samples collected at Day 94 revealed no evidence of Bd infection in any Bd-exposed frogs, while real-time PCR detected only one case of light infection in a single atrazine- and Bd-exposed frog. Frogs exposed to Bd shed their skin significantly more frequently than Bd-unexposed frogs, which may have helped them resist or clear infection, and could explain why no interaction between the herbicides and Bd was detected. The results suggest that these frogs were resistant to Bd infection and that pre-exposure to the herbicides did not alter this resistance. The effects seen on the growth following herbicide exposure is a concern, as reduced growth can lower the reproductive success and survival of the amphibians. 2012.

[cottager]

I have this little fella all throughout my place:
http://frogs.org.au/frogs/species/Crinia/signifera/

It's a total compliment to your non-reliance on pesticides and herbicides (and most "-cides" really) that frogs exist around you.

Frogs are biological indicators ... their skin is both moist and absorbant. If there's a toxin in the environment, they are a bit like the canaries in coal mines ... they die first.

[scoutt]

Mole crickets (http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_grasshoppers/MoleCricket.htm) sound a bit like frogs, and definitely live under the ground.
this is a good website to listen to their calls. They're not just found in Brisbane either, my folks have heaps of them in Perth.

[Pakanohida]

Effects of herbicides and the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis on the health of post-metamorphic northern leopard frogs (Lithobates pipiens).
Paetow L.J., Daniel McLaughlin J., Cue R.I., Pauli B.D., Marcogliese D.J.
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 80 (pp 372-380), 2012.

Publisher
Academic Press (24-28 Oval Road, London NW1 7DX, United Kingdom)

AB Effects of exposure to contaminants such as pesticides along with exposure to pathogens have been listed as two major contributors to the global crisis of declining amphibian populations.
These two factors have also been linked in explanations of the causes of these population declines. We conducted a combined exposure experiment to test the hypothesis that exposure to two agricultural herbicides would increase the susceptibility of post-metamorphic northern leopard frogs (Lithobates pipiens) to the amphibian fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). We assessed the independent and interactive effects of these exposures on the health and survival of the frogs. Wild-caught frogs underwent a 21-day exposure to a nominal concentration of either 2.1mug/L atrazine (Aatrex Liquid 480) or 100muga.e./L glyphosate (Roundup Original), followed by Bd, and then were observed until 94 days post-initial exposure to the herbicides. Actual levels of atrazine were between 4.28+/-0.04mug/L and 1.70+/-0.26mug/L while glyphosate degraded from 100muga.e./L to approximately 7muga.e./L within 6 days of initial exposure to the herbicides. Compared to controls, the glyphosate formulation reduced the snout-vent length of frogs during the pesticide exposure (at Day 21), and the atrazine formulation reduced gain in mass up to Day 94. No treatment affected survival, splenosomatic or hepatosomatic indices, the densities and sizes of hepatic and splenic melanomacrophage aggregates, the density and size of hepatic granulomas, proportions of circulating leucocytes, the ratio of neutrophils to lymphocytes, or the ratio of leucocytes to erythrocytes. Histological assessment of samples collected at Day 94 revealed no evidence of Bd infection in any Bd-exposed frogs, while real-time PCR detected only one case of light infection in a single atrazine- and Bd-exposed frog. Frogs exposed to Bd shed their skin significantly more frequently than Bd-unexposed frogs, which may have helped them resist or clear infection, and could explain why no interaction between the herbicides and Bd was detected. The results suggest that these frogs were resistant to Bd infection and that pre-exposure to the herbicides did not alter this resistance. The effects seen on the growth following herbicide exposure is a concern, as reduced growth can lower the reproductive success and survival of the amphibians. 2012.

So the glyphosphate is actually mutating the animal with in 21 days for the worse? How are we ALL allowing this to still be legal!?

[briansworms]

We used t go on holidays to Calliope near Gladstone Qld ( Australia). The ground would be so dry it would have huge cracks and you could put your foot in them. At night the green tree frogs would be all over the windows and walls. When it did rain you could here all the frogs. They were great memories