FrogID: press record on frog calls to join Australian Museum's scientific rescue mission

Hastings residents are being encouraged to take part in the Australian Museum's national frog identification project, which runs until November 20.

By signing-up to the museum's free FrogID app, citizen scientists can submit audio recordings from backyards, local parks and bushland for the museum's research team to identify.

In 2021, tens of thousands of Australians recorded over 20,000 audio files, adding to the growing understanding of how frogs are coping against a myriad of threats

Forty of Australia's 246 native frog species are currently on the edge of extinction due to habitat loss, pollution, disease and climate change.

The rainfall and flooding over the last 12 months has not only wreaked havoc on communities, but also impacted frog habitats - particularly stream frogs, which are more threatened and at risk from floods.

According to the project's lead scientist, Dr Jodi Rowley, frogs are part of one of the most threatened groups of animals on Earth.

"By putting more frog calls on the map, particularly in regional and remote areas, we can better understand and conserve frogs," she said.

Kim McKay, Director and CEO of the Australian Museum, said that while FrogID is in its early years, the information being gathered is already playing a valuable role in helping frogs.

"This year, the museum has reached the milestone of over 700,000 Australian frog call records since the project began," Ms McKay said.

"This remarkable, quality 'audio shot' of the status of Australia's frogs is thanks to ordinary people."

The free FrogID app was initially developed in partnership with IBM in 2017.

The app enables anyone with a smartphone to record different frog species by the unique sounds they make.

These recordings provide data on the health of Australia's frog populations and identify species that are at risk, to assist and inform conservation efforts.

Stream frog species include:

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