Push to record mass deaths still going undetected

While all eyes are focused on how the nation will contain the latest spread of Covid-19, another epidemic is quietly sweeping through Australia.

Dead frogs that have been found on a property in Ashby, NSW. Photo: Barbara Winters

While all eyes are focused on how the nation will contain the latest spread of Covid-19, another epidemic is quietly sweeping through Australia.

For several months, wildlife and conservation groups have been anxiously monitoring a significant increase in the number of reports of sick or dead frogs.

“This is highly alarming and suggests we have a reason to be very worried about the frog species here,” a spokesperson from Clarence Landcare said.

“On posting to our Facebook page in early August an article reporting of a significant outbreak causing frogs to become sick and die across the east coast of Australia, it wasn’t long before community members across the Clarence were reporting unusual cases of sick or dying frogs.”

The spokesperson said reports came from all across the region, including Grafton, Ulmarra, Nymboida, Ashby, Maclean and Yamba.

Could this mass frog mortality event be the result of an outbreak of chytrid fungus?
(Electron microscope image taken by Lee Berger)

Jodi Rowley, lead scientist of national frog identification and research project FrogID has already spent several weeks collating hundreds of reports from across Australia to try and understand the extent of this mass frog mortality event.

“While we suspect disease is responsible, I’m working with the Australian Registry of Wildlife Health, government biosecurity and environmental agencies to understand the scale, cause and impact of this upsetting event,” she said in a statement.

The outbreak is initially suspected to be the Chytrid fungus, however the case could instead be an unknown pathogen.

But with the scale of impacted frog populations still unclear with potentially thousands of animals dying undetected, wildlife and conservation groups are appealing to the wider community to help report any frog activity they come across.

In the meantime, Clarence Landcare and Glen Innes Natural Resources Advisory Committee are hosting a free FrogID webinar on Saturday, August 21 from 10.30am to 11.30am which will explore how citizen science can impact frogs and assist in their recovery.