Frog Census 3.0.1

The Frog Census application provides comprehensive descriptions of the 16 frog species commonly encountered within the Melbourne region and facilitates efficient submission of frog calls by community members to the longstanding Frog Census program, which has been active since 2001. The primary objective of Frog Census is to foster community engagement in understanding the ecological significance, threats, and conservation needs of frog species across Melbourne.

The program relies on volunteer-collected data to enhance knowledge of frog distribution within the Port Phillip and Western Port areas. It encourages local residents to participate as citizen scientists by recording frog calls at nearby waterways, thereby contributing valuable data to regional monitoring efforts.

Collected data supports tracking frog population dynamics across Melbourne, informing river health management strategies undertaken by Melbourne Water and associated land management agencies. Additionally, the data is integrated into the Atlas of Living Australia and the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas, enriching regional biodiversity records. Citizen science contributions play a vital role in conservation efforts and can serve as indicators of water quality in local aquatic ecosystems.

The Frog Census program aims to cover all regions within Melbourne Water’s service area, with particular emphasis on areas lacking sufficient frog data or identified as sites of ecological interest.

The application was developed by Melbourne Water utilizing code from the NatureBlitz app, created by North Central Catchment CMA’s Waterwatch program.

Features of the Frog Census app include:

• Enabling users to submit frog recordings and upload images accompanied by descriptive text.
• An interactive map displaying all submitted frog records.
• Automatic collection of GPS location data.
• Auto-import of weather conditions from the Bureau of Meteorology.
• Verification of recordings by a professional ecologist to ensure data accuracy.

Upon initial use, users are prompted to provide their name and email address, which are necessary for submitting records. The app retains these details for subsequent entries to streamline the process. All personal information remains confidential and is solely used for record verification purposes.

Photographic media are courtesy of Peter Robertson, and frog call recordings are courtesy of Ed McNabb. All media content is copyright held by its respective creators. Permission requests for media use or further inquiries should be directed to the Melbourne Water Frog Census team at [email protected].