Frogs and Frog Habitat
A number of threatened and/or endangered frog species have been listed for the Lachlan Catchment. This includes the Yellow-spotted Bell Frog (Litoria castenea), a critically endangered species under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act (1995), and endangered under the Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999), which has recently been discovered in the Southern Tablelands of the upper Lachlan Catchment. Recovery plans have been put in place for this species. Another threatened species, the Southern Bell Frog (Litoria raniformis), has not been recorded in the catchment over recent years (Wassens 2005). This frog species is associated with many wetland types, preferring slow flowing natural water bodies containing emergent aquatic vegetation (Office of Environment and Heritage).
Yarnel Lagoon and Burrawang West Lagoon are known to support breeding populations of a number of frog species including the Barking Marsh Frog (Limnodynastes fletcheri), Peron’s Tree Frog (Litoria peronii), the Inland Banjo Frog (Lymnodynastes interioris) and the Desert Tree Frog (Litoria rubella) (Wassens et al. 2007, Wassens and Maher 2010). The delivery of appropriate flows to these wetlands is essential to maintaining these important frog populations.
More recent information on the occurrence of frog species found the distribution of Littlejohn’s Tree Frog (Litoria littlejohni), listed as vulnerable (EPBC and NSW TSC), included the upper Lachlan. However, there is little information on how flows might be better managed to ensure frog survival. Information on the abundance, species composition, richness and diversity of frog communities is needed, as well as information about the factors that influence populations, such as time since last flood, inundation frequency, habitat structure, and water quality.
