THE FROG AND TADPOLE STUDY GROUP NSW Inc. Email: [email protected] PO Box 296 Rockdale NSW 2216 NEWSLETTER No. 107 June 2010 Website: www.fats.org.au ***NSW Frog licences must be sighted if ABN: 34 282 154 794 you would like to adopt a frog.*** Arrive 6.30 pm for a 7 Pm start. Friday 4th June 2010 Meeting to be held at the Field Studies Centre (Education Centre) Bicentennial Park Easy walk from Concord West railway station and straight down Victoria Ave. Take a torch. By car: Enter from Australia Ave at the Bicentennial Park entrance and drive through the park (one way road). Turn off to the right if entering from the main entrance. Or enter from Bennelong Rd / Parkway. It’s a short stretch of 2 way road and park in p10f car park (the last car park before the exit gate). See map page 12 CONTENTS PAGE Main speakers last meeting: Rowena Hamer, Scents of Photo above by Jake Janos Danger and Arthur White, Magnificent Tree Frog Litoria spendida Cane Toads at Taren Point and 2 Litoria castanea, and Judy th Harrington Dorrigo and beyond MEETING FORMAT Friday 4 June 2010 field trip 4 6.30 pm Lots of lost frogs needing homes. Please bring Growling Grass Frog your FATS membership card, $$ donation and Atrazine study NSW NPWS licence. Frogs, Zoologists and the 6 7.00 pm Welcome and announcements. French connection Tadpoles scream under water 8 7.45 pm The speakers include: Papua New Guinea frog 9 Andrew Nelson, “Famous Frogs in History”; changes colour Grant Webster “Canadian Frogs” and Unique Indian frog 10 Sheila Brifa “Smiths Lake Field Trip”. What’s at the bottom of your 11 8.30 pm Field trip reports, show us your frog images, tell garden us about your frogging trips or experiences, FATS committee contacts guessing competition, light refreshments and a Field trips, FATS Code of 12 chance to chat with frog experts. Conduct, meeting map and Frog-o-graphic competition communication and are targeted by red bellied black snakes. There has been little research into amphibian responses to odours from other frogs and behavioural responses to reduce predation risks. Mating call signals made by frogs may be picked up by females, as well as competitors or predators. Scent signals are an alternative way to communicate but these odours can also be picked up by predators. Scent trails from frogs with low mobility may cause those LAST FATS MEETING 9th APRIL 2010 amphibians to be more at risk from predation. unia Jeffery, our FATS Chairperson and Judy Forty two frogs were tracked over 176 nights over a P Harrington from the Sydney Olympic Park two year period. Each frog was tracked from between Authority, welcomed members and visitors to our one and nine nights. Distances travelled, distances from new home at the Field Studies Centre aka Education water, environmental conditions and microhabitats Centre, at Bicentennial Park, Homebush. The new were studied. On 50% of the nights they didn’t move at venue is very comfortable and a huge improvement on all, with up to seven nights in the same shelter. Females our previous meeting hall, being warm in Winter and were found in isolation, further from water than males, cool in Summer. possibly reducing predation risk and avoiding over amorous males (who harass females even if their eggs are not ready to be fertilized). If it’s too cold, too dry or too hot they tend not to move. Pheromones and skin secretions marked sites used by frogs. Those with high resting site fidelity may be vulnerable to predation. Using scent communication may be increasing predation risk and transference of bacterial and viral infections. Scent strategy responses were studied in the lab. Given a choice of shelter, frogs were attracted to their own species scent when there was no predator odour present. When predator scents were added, the frogs appeared to avoid shelters with odours of their own species. Females were less interested in frog scents. Much more work needs to be done to determine how Our farewell night at heritage building 22 George Madani scent communication works and the affect feral and Judy Harrington foreground Wendy Grimm outside. predators have. February 2010 Photo Phillip Grimm Many comments and questions from the floor followed. The end of daylight saving had caught everyone by Thank you Rowena for a fascinating and thought surprise. The roads leading to the Education Centre were provoking presentation. unintentionally left unlit. Well done the sixty of you Arthur White, talked about the alarming numbers of who found the Field Studies Centre in the dark! Cane Toads found in the Sutherland Shire in 2010. Apologies to those who got lost! If you are uncertain of There is great concern about their breeding in Sydney the way there, then the Bennelong Road/Parkway entry and the susceptibility of local tree frogs, other small may be the most direct route to use. creatures, native predators and wetland birds. Arthur White announced the very popular and final Arthur has been employed by Sutherland Shire Council FATS field trip for the season, to be held at Smiths to prepare a plan of management and strategy for the Lake. See page 12, FrogCall newsletter 106 . toads’ eradication. More information will follow in The Frog and Reptile Show has moved to Sydney future FrogCalls. Olympic Park showground. Thank you to all those who By the 1960’s Cane Toads had moved into Brisbane. assisted at the FATS stall, including Karen and Arthur Over successive years they have marched South and White, Punia Jeffery, Marion Anstis, Phillip Grimm, West, traversing the Northern Territory in a space of Robert Wall, Grant Webster, Monica Wangmann and five years, which shows how fast these animals can especially Lothar Voigt. move under ideal conditions. The first record of Cane Our main speaker at the FATS meeting was Rowena Toads in Sydney was 1983 but they may have been Hamer from the University of NSW, presenting findings here earlier than that. The first record in the Shire was about scent communication between Great Barred Frogs 1986. Mixophyes fasciolatus – the coolest frog in the world, In 1998 FATS started its frog rescue service and according to Rowena. The study looked at these adult commenced picking up Cane Toads as a result. There frogs who are known to have low mobility, use of scent were a number of people at the April 2010 FATS meeting who were involved with the successful Cane The owners of the private property where they were Toad eradication at Port Macquarie, in recent years. found, are very excited about the find and happy to help protect the frogs and their habitat. In conjunction with NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), FATS started a Cane Toad Alert Programme. On average 50 toads are collected in Sydney a year with normally a couple from the Shire. Over the February to April 2010 period most Cane Toads reported by local residents came from Taren Point. It was obvious by the size range of the toads collected that they have been breeding for at least three years. This year, excellent wet and warm weather conditions have escalated the numbers of Cane Toads breeding at Taren Point. The impact of highly mobile, toxic, parasite ridden Cane Toads on native fauna, predators, cats and dogs could be significant. Recently the number of foxes reported in the Back from the dead: the yellow-spotted bell frog was Shire has dropped dramatically. thought to be extinct for more than 30 years (ABC) Experiments are under way to see if Cane Toads can be The Yellow-spotted Bell Frogs were first described in infected by parasites to reduce their numbers whilst not 1867. At one stage about 1975 they were called affecting other species, but trials show that Cane Toad Litoria flavipuncata and were last seen West of Guyra parasites (not native to Australia) are potentially lethal to in 1978. Are the Southern populations, last seen in native Australian tree frogs. 1973, the same as the Northern species? The older, How far have the toads dispersed in the Shire? snake keeping residents of the Bathurst district, who collected, photographed and recorded frogs were able to Overseas, these animals are known as the Marine Toad. shed further light on this species, last seen there in 1977. They have a very high ability to withstand saline conditions. It is of concern that they may spread into the Judy Harrington presented great slides about FATS’ continuous coastal mangroves leading into Taren Point inaugural week-long field trip to Dorrigo and beyond, Nature Reserve, which is mostly wetland mangrove, including the wonderful birdlife. The troupe swum home to internationally renown water bird life. Small creeks, climbed mountains, assembled tents in wetland birds are unlikely to survive if they commence magnificent camping areas, photographed diverse eating baby Cane Toads. Sutherland’s National Park is wildlife, such as frogs of course, snails, birds, leaches also under threat. and turtles, went frogging, walked through rain forests, sat around the fire at night and had a unique adventure. NSW NPWS and FATS will target known toad breeding Thank you Judy for your entertaining presentation. sites. We will be calling on the resources of FATS members and sister societies, to stop all this, gearing up for a fairly large assault in Spring and Summer 2010. FATS is in the process of buying Cane Toad traps and solar strip path lights. The intention is to hammer known sites including some industrial land, before the next breeding season. Get your wellies and torches ready.