Litoria species – a little Frog of Wetlands, Forests and Woodlands – Habitat Care and Stewardship

Litoria species of frogs occur throughout the Mt Warning (Wollumbin) Caldera Region of NE NSW & SE QLD.   Byron Shire, in the Northern Rivers of NSW has many lowlands, wetlands, small catchments, remnant forest ecosystems and development and vegetation / habitat clearing pressures. Tweed Shire , in the Northern Rivers of NSW, the same. Both Shires have lowland estuarine and swamp (high water table) vegetation communities that can often have their water tables changed by inappropriate development. The re-shaping of catchments, and thus ground water flows and sedimentation areas, can have far reaching consequences for our beautiful East Coast Australian Frogs.

Litoria Species do not always need to live in the low wetland areas. some can be found higher up, on perched water table areas, wet and dry rainforests – indeed anywhere that there is clean water and habitat condusive to breeding and living successfully as a frog.

The little Frog in the photos is Litoria latopalmata, from what I can work out.

Lets have a look at some websites about this beautiful little frog:

Gold Coast City Council – Litoria latopalmata    a photo

Native animals of the Gold Coast’s eucalypt forests and woodlands Google HTML doc  of the PDF  

Native animals living in or near creeks and rivers of the Gold Coast (Gold Coast City Council) Google HTML doc of the PDF

The frogs of NSW Wetlands at NSW Department of Natural Resources  

Litoria latopalmata (Broad Palmed Frog) at Amphibiaweb : distribution, photos, links, specimen search

Call and video list on Amphibiaweb   

Litoria latopalmata at Frogs Australia Network – Australian Frog Database   

ICUN Redlist of threatened species :  Broad-Palmed Rocket Frog – Litoria latopalmata  

Australian Government Action Plan for Frogs “Checklist of Australian Frogs”      

A survey of the frogs of Nixon and Little Nerang Creeks adjacent to the proposed Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk route. 2005  googleHTML doc for the same PDF at the EPA Queensland  Government  (Environmental Protection Agency QLD)

Australian Faunal Directory   at  the     Australian Biological Resources Study  –  web page for    Species Litoria latopalmata Günther, 1867 (Broad-palmed Frog, Gunther’s Frog)

Amphibian’s Keepers Licence – NSW Government – Google HTML Doc

Wetland Link :  Wetland Management tools for NSW  and some legislative info? 

bluecray frog links  

bluecray Regional Environmental News Search – Mt Warning Caldera  Litoria latopalmata – search

bluecray.org   : more photos of the little (Litoria sp. ) frog here

NSW Department of Water & Energy  

NSW Department of Primary Industries   

NSW Department of Environment & Climate Change   

NSW Department of Lands

Australian Frog Calls, Subtropical Eastern Australia – by David Stewart 

 

I found this little frog in a bucket, that was left outside last night. I put the little frog into the wettest, most protected part of the garden, and it hopped away

PK (Phantom Koala) ponders past Pottsville for Food

Phantom Koala journeys up the Tweed Coast, in the Northern Rivers of NSW (NE NSW, Australia). Miraculously, he has crossed the Pacific Highway near Mooball, and he is on his way to meet with his family and friends near Kings Forest.

Phantom Koala, facing off with the Moneybags, as he negotiates his way north, from beyond Pottsville towards Kings Forest.  

Meanwhile, Chin Ting  (the Dragonfly) is confident that the Estuarine areas of the Tweed Coastline will not be forgotten. She points out to PK that rising sea levels will change this coastline in the future, and hopefully there will be enough wetland remnants to re-populate the rising watertables and wetlands areas of the beautiful catchments along the lowlands.

PK asks Chin Ting  about the Catchments here, on the Tweed Coast, and what are the best estuarine vegetation lines to follow. He is concerned because everything keeps changing so suddenly. His head is beginning to spin.

Chin Ting says ” I guess no one has told you what is going on! You must learn to pay attention! Those trees are going soon, these ones are staying, these ones will die back from changed water table levels, and the trees further on were cleared yesterday AND, this water table is changing, this water hole is going, that area is designated road, and soon there will be thousands of people there, as well!!!” .  No one knows what the quality of the underground water table is like and your cousins, 21 times removed, down in Victoria,  are still making the headlines in  fire news, all over the world”.

The little dragonfly is gasping, glowing with anticipation ……

PK’s head spins even more.

Chin Ting Continues, a wave of enthusiasm causing her to glow brightly in the sunlight…”Yes PK, times are changing, but no one’s keeping up, and everyone is pretending that they are.  Everybody is concerned about the world, but saying development must go one…. like.. “always something cooking, but nothings in the pot”…. oh dear, that makes me think of the Catchment Management, Regional Planning and Developmental Planning Workshops……..and the meetings with moneybags.”

“Lets get going, it’s a long journey ahead, and since we have no newspapers, Geospatial Information or maps and departmental planning reports to read – let alone understand or believe, we don’t know what is going on up ahead, and the weather looks like it is going to change, again!”