Lost frogs is a term given to frogs which have been relocated, usually accidentally, outside of their original distribution.
The term mainly applies to Australia, due to the large number of frogs (up to 10,000 a year) transported accidentally while hiding in fruit produce, flowers and building and landscape supplies. [1] Most of the lost frogs each year are moved from Northern Australia to the larger cities in the south.
The majority of the lost frogs turn up in fruit shops and markets. These frogs are often released into the surrounding areas. The release of lost frogs into areas far from their original habitat can have devastating effects on the released frog or the local frog populations. As lost frogs often end up moving from tropical to cooler areas they often cannot adapt fast enough to the new climate, and due to the stress of travelling hundreds of kilometres, often suffer injuries and are likely to die. Lost frogs are also often responsible for the spread of disease. When a frog suffering from a disease is released into an area where the disease is not present, it can have severe effects on the local frog populations. The fast spread of the chytrid fungus around Australia was likely to have been assisted by the introduction of lost frogs into areas where the disease was absent.
To prevent the release of lost frogs, many groups in Australia's major cities have set up lost frog rescue services. The aim of such programs is to collect the lost frogs from fruit shops or landscaping suppliers and quarantine them for 2–3 months in order to make sure it is not a carrier of exotic diseases.
Quarantine is extremely important in the management of lost frogs. It involves holding the frog separate from others in an essentially bare container, with nothing more than a water dish, a hiding place and food. The frogs must be checked regularly for any evidence of disease and to monitor injury. Once the quarantine period is over the frog still cannot be released into the wild, because it is extremely difficult to track down the exact location where the frog originally came from. Most lost frogs are then sold to people willing to look after them or who want a frog as a pet. The Hygiene Protocol for Control of Disease in Frogs, should be followed when dealing with lost frogs, it was written by the National Parks and Wildlife Service and is recognized as one of the best guides for prevent the spread of the amphibian chytrid fungus.
The majority of lost frogs are tree frogs, as these frogs often live in banana plantations, and are moved with the bananas when they are cut down for shipping. Therefore, the majority of frogs that end up becoming lost frogs are:
In building and landscaping materials ground frogs are the main species which are transported; the spotted grass frog (Limnodynastes tasmaniensis) is well known for being moved long distance in such materials. There are colonies of this species in areas far from their native range, which are thought to be the result of their accidental transportation.
Cane toads (Bufo marinus) are also known to become lost frogs, however they can usually adapt to change, and often do not die once they reach their destination. The movement of cane toads in building material is one of the causes for the spread of the species around Australia. [2] Populations of cane toads ahead of their main frontier, such as the former population at Port Macquarie, are believed to be displaced toads moved from areas in Queensland.
The Nightcap National Park is a national park situated within the Nightcap Range in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. The 8,080-hectare (20,000-acre) park was created in April 1983 and is situated 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of Lismore. The park was established following campaigns and blockades against logging at Terania Creek, Grier's Scrub and Mount Nardi between 1979 and 1982. Sections of the Whian Whian state forest were added to it following blockading and campaigning in 1998. The national park is classed by the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas as Category II and is part of the Shield Volcano Group of the World Heritage Site Gondwana Rainforests of Australia inscribed in 1986 and added to the Australian National Heritage List in 2007.
Invasive species in Australia are a serious threat to the native biodiversity, and an ongoing cost to Australian agriculture. Numerous species arrived with European maritime exploration and colonisation of Australia and steadily since then.
Chytridiomycosis is an infectious disease in amphibians, caused by the chytrid fungi Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans. Chytridiomycosis has been linked to dramatic population declines or extinctions of amphibian species in western North America, Central America, South America, eastern Australia, east Africa (Tanzania), and Dominica and Montserrat in the Caribbean. Much of the New World is also at risk of the disease arriving within the coming years. The fungus is capable of causing sporadic deaths in some amphibian populations and 100% mortality in others. No effective measure is known for control of the disease in wild populations. Various clinical signs are seen by individuals affected by the disease. A number of options are possible for controlling this disease-causing fungus, though none has proved to be feasible on a large scale. The disease has been proposed as a contributing factor to a global decline in amphibian populations that apparently has affected about 30% of the amphibian species of the world. Some research found evidence insufficient for linking chytrid fungi and chytridiomycosis to global amphibian declines, but more recent research establishes a connection and attributes the spread of the disease to its transmission through international trade routes into native ecosystems.
The green and golden bell frog, also named the green bell frog, green and golden swamp frog and green frog, is a species of ground-dwelling tree frog native to eastern Australia. Despite its classification and climbing abilities, it does not live in trees and spends almost all of its time close to ground level. It can reach up to 11 cm (4.5 in) in length, making it one of Australia's largest frogs.
The eastern dwarf tree frog, also known as the eastern sedge-frog, is a species of tree frog. It is a small and very common frog and found on the eastern coast of Australia, from around Cairns, Queensland, to around Ulladulla, New South Wales. Individual frogs of this species are often found elsewhere, having been accidentally relocated by transported fruit boxes. Confirmed sightings of breeding pairs have confirmed their survival in Victoria's cooler climate.
The Australian green tree frog, also known as simply green tree frog in Australia, White's tree frog, or dumpy tree frog, is a species of tree frog native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in the United States and New Zealand, though the latter is believed to have died out. It is morphologically similar to some other members of its genus, particularly the magnificent tree frog (R. splendida) and the white-lipped tree frog (R. infrafrenata).
Frogs have been used in animal tests throughout the history of biomedical science.
The bleeding toad, fire toad or Indonesian tree toad is a species of true toad in the amphibian family Bufonidae, endemic to Java, Indonesia. L. javanica was, formerly, synonymous with the bleeding toad prior to its description as a distinct species in 2018, although the degree of differentiation between these species is low. The bleeding toad is listed as a critically endangered species due to a drastic population decline. The factors behind this decline are unclear, but appear consistent with the global spread of chytrid fungus, a particularly lethal fungal spore for frogs and toads; once infected, the animals develop a condition known as chytridiomycosis before ultimately dying. it is estimated there are less than 250 individuals of the species.
The dainty green tree frog, also known as the graceful tree frog, is a species of tree frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae. It is native to eastern Queensland, and north-eastern New South Wales, Australia and ranges from northern Cape York in Queensland to Gosford in New South Wales, with a small and most likely introduced population in Hornsby Heights in Sydney. It is one of two faunal emblems of the City of Brisbane.
The armoured frog, or armoured mist frog, is a species of tree frog in the torrent frog complex, a group restricted to north-eastern Queensland, Australia.
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, also known as Bd or the amphibian chytrid fungus, is a fungus that causes the disease chytridiomycosis in amphibians.
The Booroolong frog is a species of stream-dwelling frog native to the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales, Australia. It is a member of the Hylidae, or the "tree frog" family. The Booroolong frog is classified by the IUCN as a Critically Endangered Species.
The motorbike frog is a ground-dwelling tree frog of the subfamily Pelodryadinae found in Southwest Australia. Its common name is derived from the male frog's mating call, which sounds similar to a motorbike changing up through gears; it is also known as Moore's frog, the western bell frog, western green and golden bell frog, and western green tree frog. The Noongar name for it is Kyooya.
Amphibians of Australia are limited to members of the order Anura, commonly known as frogs. All Australian frogs are in the suborder Neobatrachia, also known as the modern frogs, which make up the largest proportion of extant frog species. About 230 of the 5,280 species of frog are native to Australia with 93% of them endemic. Compared with other continents, species diversity is low, and may be related to the climate of most of the Australian continent. There are two known invasive amphibians, the cane toad and the smooth newt.
The common mist frog is a species of tree frog native to north-eastern Queensland, Australia. It is a medium-sized frog and a member of the Australian torrent treefrog group. The common mist frog is found in remote, mountainous areas, and near rocky, fast-flowing rainforest streams such as those in north-eastern Queensland, Australia. They are generally sedentary frogs, and remain in the stream environments that they are born into, preferring sections of the stream with riffles, many rocks, and overhanging vegetation.
The wallum sedge frog, also known as the Olongburra frog or the sharp-snouted reed frog, is a species of frog that is endemic to Australia. Varying in color from brown to dark green it inhabits the thick and often acidic marshes of the Wallum along the coast of Queensland and New South Wales. Mating season comes in early spring, often after heavy rainfalls. Females attach their eggs to grasses and sedges. Their call is high pitched and follows a "creeeek... crik" pattern.
"Litoria" castanea, also known as the yellow-spotted tree frog, New England swamp frog, tablelands bell frog, or yellow-spotted bell frog, is a species of frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae. It is a critically endangered species of frog that is endemic to south-eastern Australia.
The green-eyed treefrog is a species of Australasian treefrog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae that occurs in the Wet Tropics of Australia.
The Amphibians of Western Australia are represented by two families of frogs. Of the 78 species found, most within the southwest, 38 are unique to the state. 15 of the 30 genera of Australian frogs occur; from arid regions and coastlines to permanent wetlands.
The golden toad is an extinct species of true toad that was once abundant in a small, high-altitude region of about 4 square kilometres (1.5 sq mi) in an area north of the city of Monteverde, Costa Rica. It was endemic to elfin cloud forest. Also called the Monte Verde toad, Alajuela toad and orange toad, it is commonly considered the "poster child" for the amphibian decline crisis. This toad was first described in 1966 by herpetologist Jay Savage. The last sighting of a single male golden toad was on 15 May 1989, and it has since been classified as extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The following are links to some of the groups which undertake frog rescue.