The southern brown tree frog is found in the Goulburn Broken Catchment’s grey box grassy woodlands, which are a focus of a project to provide habitat.
Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority’s Linking Landscapes and Communities project works with landowners, communities and Traditional Owners to improve critical habitat, supported by funding from the Federal Government.
Goulburn Broken CMA project officer Janice Mentiplay-Smith said the frog was one of Victoria’s more common frog species.
“With ‘sticky fingers’ on their hands for climbing and webbed toes on their feet for swimming, the southern brown tree frog occupies a variety of habitats such as wetlands, grasslands, forest, farmland, suburban parks and gardens,” Ms Mentiplay-Smith said.
“They are acrobatic hunters, leaping and twisting in mid-air to catch and eat flies, mosquitoes and moths.
“They breed all year round and take advantage of wet weather that is conducive to finding a mate.
“The female lays around 600 eggs in small clumps anchored to vegetation around the edges of a dam, pond or boggy area. The tadpoles hatch in just a few days but take up to six or seven months to become frogs.”
Ms Mentiplay-Smith said although they were currently listed as common and widespread, as with many species of frog, they were at serious threat due to loss of habitat, pollution, general habitat degradation and the devastating chytrid fungus, which has already rendered at least four species of Australian frogs extinct.
“As the southern brown tree frog is adapted to urban situations, creating a frog-friendly backyard is an easy way to help this species, as well as other frogs,” she said.
“Even simple actions such as not using insecticides or pesticides will help as; after all, the southern brown tree frog relies on insects to eat. No insects mean no frogs.
“Installing a small pond or ‘frog bog’ in your garden is also a great addition. As the southern brown tree frog needs vegetation on which to anchor eggs, you can also plant some rushes or submerge pots with water plants in them around the edge.
“Just remember, don’t move frogs into your pond for an ‘instant frog pond’.
“It’s illegal to move frogs and tadpoles. Not only does it raise animal welfare issues, moving frogs and tadpoles can introduce disease and interfere with local genetics.”
For more information on frog pond and frog bog construction, visit backyardbuddies.org.au