Gone but not forgotten: The status of the stuttering Frog 'Mixophyes balbus' in Victoria

2014·2 MB·English

ResearchReports
Gone but not forgotten: The status ofthe Stuttering Frog
Mixophyes balbus in Victoria
Graeme RGillespie1 KwaiChang Kum2 David A De Angelis3and Bradley D Jenner3
, ,
'FloraandFaunaDivision,DepartmentofLandResourceManagement,
CSIROComplex,564VanderlinDrive,Berrimah,NorthernTerritory0838
2ZoosVictoria,RO.Box74,Parkville,Victoria3052
5EarlyPlace,Boronia,Victoria3155
Abstract
TheStuttering Frog, Mixophyesbalbus,isathreatenedspeciesrestrictingtouplandstreamsincoastaldrain-
agesofsoutheasternAustralia.There havebeennoconfirmedsightingsotthisspeciesinVictoriasince 1983
and it has suffered marked declines throughout its range. We undertook surveys targeting suitable habitat
throughoutthepotentialVictorianextentofrangeofthespecies,inordertodetectanyremainingpopulations
andascertainitscurrentconservationstatus.Nineteen stream reacheson 12differentstreamsweiesampled
withatotalof41.7kmofwatercoursesearched. NoStutteringfrogsweredetected,but allotherfrogspecies
expectedtobeassociatedwithstreamsintheareawerefrequentlydetected.Thesefindingsbuildonprevious
evidencethattheStutteringFroghasdeclinedthroughoutitsrange,andmayinfactnowbeextinctinthewild
inVictoria. (TheVictorianNaturalist,131(3),2014,64-71)
Keywords: amphibian declines; extinction;chytridfungus;conservation assessment
Introduction
Amphibian population declines, both in Aus- ers alongthe eastern fall ofthe Great Dividing
tralia and worldwide, have received much at- Range from north-eastern New South Wales
tention over the past 25 years (Stuart et al to the Gann River catchment in eastern Victo-
2004). Within Australia, since the late 1970s ria (Gillespie and Hines 1999). Historically M.
at least threespecies mayhave become extinct balbus was widespread in central and north-
NSW
andafurther37 specieshaveundergonepopu- ern and considered secure (Gillespie
lationdeclinesandrangecontractionswarrant- and Hines 1999). Duringthe 1980s and 1990s,
ingRedlistingbythe IUCN (Hero etal 2006). the species underwent a noticeable decline
Many of these declines have occurred within across much ofits distribution (Mahony 1993;
protectedareas orinotherareas whereanthro- GillespieandHines 1999). Althoughtherewere
pogenic disturbances havebeen minimal (Stu- fewerhistoricrecordssouthofSydneyandonly
artetal2004). three from Victoria (Gillespie and Hines 1999;
In the late 1990s a novel pathogen, the am- NSWWildlifeAtlas),thespecieshasnowdisap-
phibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium den- pearedfrom nearlyallknownhistoricalsitesin
drobatidis (Bd), was discovered (Berger et al thoseregions(Lemckertetal 1997; Daly 1998;
1998), and has since been implicated as a ma- Gillespie and Hines 1999; Daly et al 2000).
jor cause of amphibian declines, particularly Targeted surveys have detected the species at
for so-called enigmatic declines in minimally onlythreelocalitiesinNSWsouthofSydneyin
disturbedareas (e.g.Lipsetal 2006). However, thepast 10years (Dalyetal 2000;White2000;
habitat loss and alteration, along with other Hunter2001; Hunterunpublisheddata).
threatening processes, such as invasive species Mixophyes balbuswas lastseen in Victoria in
and pollution, have played important roles in 1983 (GillespieandHines 1999).Generalfauna
the declines of many species (Gillespie et al surveys in EastGippsland conductedsince the
2011).Morerecently,evidenceismountingthat 1980s did not locate this species (see Lugg et
climate change isalsoadverselyaffecting some al 1993); however, there was relatively lim-
speciesandcommunities(Laurance2008;Bick- ited survey effort targeting cryptic amphibian
fordetal2010). species such as M. balbus (G. Gillespie pers.
The Stuttering Frog (or Southern Barred obs.). Additional, more targeted surveys since
Frog) Mixophyes balbus (Fig. 1) occurs in riv- the mid-1990s have also failed to locate any
64 TheVictorian Naturalist
)
ResearchP,eports
Fig.l. TheStutteringFrog
Mixophyesbalbus. Photo:
GGillespie
individuals (Holloway and Osborne 1996; G. EastGippslandinanattempttofindanyextant
Gillespieunpubl. data). populationsofM. balbusinVictoria,andtore-
Mixophyes balbus is currently listed nation- assessitsstatus.
allyasVulnerable (EnvironmentProtection and
Methods
Biodiversity ConservationAct(EPBC 1999). In
The survey focused on the greater catchments
VtiacxtoonribayMt.hebaVlibcutsoriisarnegFilsotreareadnadsFaatuhnraeaGtueanre-d of the Cann and Genoa Rivers, because M.
antee Act 1988 (FFG), and listed as Critically balbus is historically known from these catch-
EVenrdtaenbgraetreedFaounntaheinAdvViisctoorryiaLis(tDoSfETh2r0e1a3t)e.neAd malesnotss,abmoptlhediniVnictthoeriBaeanmdmNSRiWv.erOncaetcsihtmeewnats,
NationalRecoveryPlanforM. balbushasbeen westoftheCann River. Samplingsiteswerese-
published (HunterandGillespie2011),andthe lected from satellite imagery and topographic
Department ofEnvironment and Primary In- maps. Sites that werelikelyto meet the follow-
dustries (DEPI) has drafted a Flora and Fauna ingcriteriawerechosen:
Guarantee Action Statement for this species •Streamstypicallyperennial;
(DSE2009). • Welldevelopedriparianwetforestorrainforest;
Knowledge ofthe former distribution ofM. • Steep-sidedbanks ratherthanwideterraces;
balbusinVictoriaisverylimitedsincetherewas • Streambedswiderthan 1 m;
minimal survey effort for riverine frogs in the • Streamswithgravel/stonyorrockysubstrates;
region before the recognition ofdecline. Fur- • Up-stream ofroadcrossings.
thermore,thespeciesishighlycryptic,andmay Thefirstfourcriteriareflectthetypicalfeatures
remain undetected at low population densities ofmanyofthesitesatwhichM. balbuspersists
inpoorlysurveyed areas. Newinformation ac- in NSW. The last criterion favours sites that
quired in recentyearson surveytechniquesfor have relatively low historic disturbance levels.
rare stream-breeding frogs suggests that previ- Two historic sites were also re-sampled; Ten-
o(eu.sg.sGaimllpelsipnigeaefnfdorHtolmlaisy1h9a9v6e;Gbielelnespiinead1e9q9u9;atDe nEaysstonBrCarnecehk)annedarFltahteRNocSkWCrbeoredker(.CaTnhneRtihvierrd
Hunterunpubl.data). Inparticular,insufficient historic site, Jones Creek, was not investigated
lengthsofstream were surveyed andtherewas becauseadvicefromDavidCameron(Botanist,
alackofsurveyfocusonlarvae.Consequently, Arthur Rylah Institute, DEPI) suggested that,
manypartsofthe species’ southern range may asa resultofthe 1983 fire andsubsequentero-
not have been adequately sampled. We under- sion, this catchmenthas undergone significant
tooktargeted surveysofselectedcatchments in geophysical,hydrological andfloristicchanges,
Vol 131 (3) 2014 65
Research Reports
suchthatM. balbusisunlikelytopersistthere. A minimum of1 km was searched by dayand
Surveyswereundertakenbetween 19Novem- bynightateachsite.Forallsurveyshygienepro-
ber2011 and23January2013.Allsamplingwas tocols (NPWS 2000)werestrictlyadhered toin
undertakeninthemonths ofSeptembertoJan- ordertominimisetheriskofspreadingBd.
uary. Eachstream was searched duringthe day
Results
bytwoormorepeoplewalkingslowlyupstream Atotal of41.7kmofwatercoursewassurveyed
in the watercourse searching for tadpoles and
egg nests. Flat-bottomed dip nets (bag >35 cm across19streamreacheson12differentstreams
wideX<60cmdeep, meshsize0.9-4mm)were (Fig. 2; Table 1). Mixophyes balbuswas notlo-
cated at any sites sampled. All other stream-
periodically swept over the substrate in pools
breeding species known from East Gippsland
aobnsderqvueirestefrorsaepctpiroonxsimoafterlifyfl1estoby2 moinneuteosr.tAwlol w(Leirteorilaoccaitterdopaa,loL.nglemsuoesutri,starnedamLs..nuCdriidniigaitsuisg-)
tadpoles detected were captured by dipnet and
identified (see Hero and Gillespie 1993; Anstis nifera, Litoria citropa and L. nudidigitus were
abundantatmostsitesandshowednoevidence
2002). Eggnestsweretargeted sinceMixophyes
ofpopulationdeclinessinceobservationsmade
balbusmaybreedat thistimeoftheyear.
in the 1980s and early 1990s by one ofthe au-
Streams were searched for frogs at night by thors (GG).Litorialesueuriwaslesscommonat
two or more people walking slowly upstream.
the sitessampled;however, thisspecies prefers
Mixophyes balbus hasa conspicuous eye-shine
moreopenforesthabitatsonwiderwatercours-
readilydetected withahead torch. Areas both
es in eastern Victoria (Gillespie 2002), and
within thestream marginsandalongbanks up
m was not expected to be common in the habi-
to 10 from the watercourse were searched.
Callplaybackwasnotused asthiswasnotcon- tatstargeted forM. balbus. Fiveotherlentic,or
facultative stream-breeding, species were also
sideredareliablesurveymethodforthisspecies;
located:Limnodynastesperonii Litoriaaurea L.
however, frog calls were monitored and noted. , ,
All frogslocatedwereinspectedand identified. ewingii,L.peronii,andL. verreauxii(Table 1).
.
Research Reports
Limnodynastes
peronii
signifera
Critiia
verreauxii
Litoria
peronii
Litoria
ewingii
Litoria
nudidigitus
Litoria
Litorialesueuri
Litoriacitropa
Litoria aurea
of
Numberobservers
(Km)
Distancesampled
05/12/2010
Date
M <-Nl
u
Site u M^rgSCC<rOU-'=*-"NNtC£oO^^On -uJC^UO3UnLNbTNo^of-IrH£oO*O*N CrUD_CcOnh=*((^cfNoNKNOo'OON ^UC-6L,1r»o—ON ^Sg2u23TCga3o«^Nomionn ^^nD|5w=Nror•^’o"'ooto—on U4co^Cb2.=NcC<o"oONoomoCertnN* SandyCWaterkholes234’750°";4137469”°
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68 TheVictorianNaturalist
Research Reports
Discussion Victoria,TennysonCreekandFlatRockCreek,
Thepresentsurveybuildsonpreviousattempts oradjacenttributarieswithsimilarhabitat.The
tolocateAT. balbusin Victoria. Thespecieshas Flat RockCreeksiteappearstohaveundergone
notbeen seen in Victoria for30 years, and has significant habitat changes since the original
not been found in NSW south ofEden since report, possibly from disturbance associated
the early 1990s (Hunter and Gillespie in re- with improvements to and usage of the ad-
view). Urlus and Marr (2011) reported a call jacent Cann Valley Highway. It seems highly
record ofAT. balbus from the Thurra River in likelythatM. balbusisextinctatthesesites.The
March2011;however,thisrecordisconsidered intense 1983 forest fire that burnt through the
unreliable and highly doubtful (Clemann and Jones Creek warm temperate rainforest refer-
Gillespie 2012). Without doubt, the species ence area, followed by extensive erosion and
has undergone a severe decline throughout subsequent forest regeneration (D. Cameron
the southern part ofits range in Victoria and pers. com.), have almost certainly rendered
southern NSW. this historic site unsuitable for M. balbus, due
Availableevidencesuggeststhatthemostlike- tosedimententrainmentofthe streambed and
ly cause ofdecline ofAT. balbus is Bd. The de- drastically reducedwaterflows. Henceitseems
clinecoincideswith thatofmanyotherstream- highly probable that the species is also extinct
breeding species in Australia (e.g. Berger et in JonesCreek.
al. 1998; Gillespie and Hines 1999), for which The pattern of the historic records strongly
Bd has also been implicated. Bd is present in suggests that M. balbus was more widespread
temperate stream systems in eastern Victoria than recent information suggest. The three
and southern NSW (Kriger et al. 2006). Other historic sites have notably different habitats:
potential causesofdecline, such as habitat loss Flat RockCreek - DryForest, Tennyson Creek
and alteration (Gillespieetal.2011) orinvasive - Riparian Forest (through Dry and Damp
fish species (Gillespie and Hero 1999) can be Forests); and Jones Creek - Warm Temperate
discounted. Much ofthe habitat of M. balbus Rainforest. Reports in theliteratureofthespe-
within Victoria remains reasonably intact and cies being associated principally with rainfor-
mostofthecatchmentareasinwhichAT. balbus estandwetforest (e.g. Daly 1998; Anstis 2002)
potentially occurs are free of introduced fish undoubtedly reflect observations of the spe-
predators, such as trout. However, nothing is cies innorthern partsofits range whereitwas
knownabout thepotential impactoffoxesand historically most frequently encountered (see
cats on frog populations, and large terrestrial Gillespie and Hines 1999). Temperature and
frogs may be quite vulnerable to predation by suitable breeding habitatare typicallythemost
thesespecies (Gillespieand Hines 1999). important factors influencing stream-breeding
Climatic factors may also be involved in the frog species distribution (Duellman and Trueb
decline ofAT. balbus, and mayworkin concert 1994). Climatic and biogeographical factors
with Bd (sec Pounds et al. 2006). However, in may have limited M. balbus to the east ofthe
theeventthatclimatechangeleadstoincreased Bemm River catchment, but its historic eleva-
NSW
stream water temperatures, reduced winter tion range inVictoria and southern (ap-
stream flowsand reducedenvironmental suita- proximately 100-1000m)suggeststhatitoccu-
bilityforBd,itmayinfactfavoursomestream- piedalargethermalgradient. Suitablebreeding
breeding amphibians at the southern limits of habitatforAlbalbus,comprisingpredominant-
theirsubtropical/warm-temperateranges. lyperennialstreams, with shallowgravel/Stony
Is AT. balbus extinct in Victoria? All historic shoalsforeggnests,andlenticpoolsfortadpole
recordswere made incidentallyand apparently development, occurs within these catchments,
with relative ease (M Littlejohn pers. comm.; and most ofthestreams we sampled had habi-
Museum Victoria records), possibly reflecting tat characteristicsthatappearedhighlysuitable
relatively higher historical population densi- forthespecies.Therefore,historicallyAT. balbus
ties. Subsequent repeated searches (Holloway mayalso havebeen morewidespreadthrough-
and Osborne 1996;G Gillespiepers. obs.)have out the tributaries of these catchments than
failed to locate the species at historic sites in currentdataindicate.
Vol 131 (3) 2014 69
, :
Research Reports
Holloway and Osborne (1996) undertook Victoria. However, with the exception of L.
a survey of stream-breeding frogs across the aurea, there have been no adequate targeted
potential Victorian range ofM. balbus but did surveys or ecological studies ofthem to prop-
notlocate thespecies. Atthattime, knowledge erlyassesstheirdistributions,populationstatus
ofsurvey techniques for rare stream-breeding and ecological requirements. Hence the im-
frogs generally, and M. balbus specifically, was pacts ofvarious potentially threatening proc-
verylimited.Wenowknowthattadpolesearch- esses, and the adequacy of current conserva-
es need tobean integralcomponent ofM. bal- tion measures orprotected managementareas,
bussurveys,asthisisthemostconspicuous life cannotpresentlybeassessed.
stage ofthe species. Due to the potential low
Acknowledgements
abundance and highly patchy distribution of
This work wasjointly funded by theDepartmentof
thisspeciesalongwatercourses, samplingeffort Environment and Primary Industries andZoos Vic-
along stream reaches needs to be designed in toria. Logistical support was provided by S Henry,
kilometresratherthanmetresinordertomake DEPI,Orbost.TheauthorsthankKathyHimbeckfor
any meaningful assessment ofthe species’ sta- producing the map showing survey locations, and
HayleyDavis,JordandeJong,JakeUrlusandJacques
tusatasite.Thepresent surveyaddressedthese Cop for their assistance in the field. Surveys were
sampling issues, and targeted habitats most undertaken under Department ofSustainabilityand
likelyto favourthespecies. Environmentresearchpermitnumber 10005694.
In conclusion, M. balbus has suffered a sub-
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Ninety-nineYearsAgo
Noteson EnglishandJapanesenewtsinVictoria
ByH. W.Davey,F.E.S.
(ReadbeforetheFieldNaturalists'ClubofVictoria, 14thDee, 1914.)
With frogs and toads, with oneortwo exceptions, impregnation ofthe eggs takes place afterthey have
been extruded bythe female,thesameas in mostofthe fishes, hutwiththetailed Bactrachians asnewts
(UErgogd-ellaayintgheisimcparrreigen—datoinoninofmuthcehegthgessisamuseuamlalnynienrteransalwi.t..h other newts.Afemaleselects someaquatic
plant forthe purpose thedenserthe better and placesa singleegg in a fold ofa leaf, hiding theegg
asmuchaspossible from sight.The necessity forall thiscare isatonceapparent,asthe malesarcmost
assiduousintheirsearchaltereggs,ofwhichfoodtheyareextremely fond,andonceaneggisdiscovered
in a leafthis istornanddraggedatbythe male until at last itcanreach theegg,when,withonesnapof
thejaws,theeggdisappears. Bothsexeswillalsogreedilydevourtheyounglarvae,anditisprobably this
cannibalistictrait that prompts thefemaletolayhereggssingly, folded in leavesofwaterplants,andthe
denserthese arethebettersuited forherpurpose, astheeggsarebetterhidden,andgreateropportunities
forescapeareaffordedtothenewly-hatchedlarvae.
From The VictorianNaturalistXXXI,pp. 135, 137,January7, 1915
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