Amphibians of Australia - Conservation

Conservation

During the 1980s, population declines were reported in Australian frog species and are severe in some areas. Many of the frogs that were reported as declining were high altitude, creek dwelling species that were remote from a changing ecology. This indicated that habitat loss and degradation were not responsible for all the declines; the cause is unknown but a diseases known as chytrid fungus may be a factor. In some cases entire genera were found declining. Both species of gastric brooding frog are now classified as extinct and all but two species of Taudactylus are critically endangered (Taudactylus diurnus is classified as extinct and Taudactylus liemi is classified as near threatened). Every species in the Philoria genus are currently declining and some species in the "Torrent Frog" complex (Litoria nannotis, Litoria lorica, Litoria nyakalensis and Litoria rheocola) have not been located for a number of years. Currently three Australian species of frog are classified as extinct, 14 listed as critically endangered and 18 as endangered. Of the 14 critically endangered species 4 have not been recorded for over 15 years and may now be extinct.

Prior to the large scale declines of the 1980s, habitat destruction was the major threat to Australian frog species since colonisation. For example, the decline of the Giant Burrowing Frog (Heleioporus australiacus) was mostly attributed to altered land use and fire regimes, such as land clearing for housing or agriculture and high intensity fires. The distribution of the Giant Burrowing Frog included Sydney, and therefore, large populations were destroyed.