Green and Golden Bell Frog

Litoria Aurea

A Foundation funded survey has made a discovery that spells hope for the future of the endangered Green and Golden Bell Frog.

A population of these frogs at Lake Meroo seems to be resistant to the deadly chytrid fungus disease, which has already killed off hundreds of frog species worldwide.

The Green and Golden Bell Frog was once one of the most common frogs in Australia. With habitat loss and polution, however, populations have declined and it is now listed as a threatened species across Australia. In NSW it is considered critically endangerd.

The chytrid fungus is yet another threat, rapidly spreading across the world, affecting the frogs’ skin and causing them to suffocate. The disease flourishes in warm climates and appears to spread even faster with global warming.

Scientists believe that the distinct chemical make-up of the water in Lake Meroo acts as a natural fungicide that kills the fungus but does not harm the frogs.

The lake is brackish and occasionally open to the sea, providing ideal conditions for sulphur releasing bacteria to grow in the bed of the lake. Sulphur like copper, is a natural fungicide, that kills the fungus but is not harmful to the frogs. Copper, is found at other sites where the frog survives, such as Port Kembla steelworks near Wollongong.

Scientists are yet to establish if and how this discovery can be used to protect other wild populations of Green and Golden Bell Frogs from the fungus.

Read more about this project in the scientist's report Litorea Aurea Project Reprot (PDF 1MB).

The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife funded this project with money raised by the children of NSW and the ACT through the Dymocks Golden Paw Award.

Top of page