News - 09 May 2019
Giant Barred Frog (NSW)
Mixophyes iteratus
Conservation status: ENDANGERED (EPBC Act) Uplisted since RFA commenced? NO EPBC Act recovery plan? NO; there is a ‘Conservation advice’ only |
- The species occurs along shallow rocky streams in rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest between 100 and 1,000m elevation (Covacevich & McDonald 1993) or deep, slow moving streams with steep banks in lowland areas.
Threats
“Many sites where the Giant Barred Frog occurs are the lower reaches of streams that have had major disturbances such as clearing, timber harvesting [logging] and urban development in their headwaters. In the Dorrigo area (north-east New South Wales), Lemckert (1999)) found that the Giant Barred Frog was less abundant in recently logged areas and at sites where there was little undisturbed forest.”
“Inadequate protection of riparian habitat during forestry activities; reduction in water quality or alterations to flow patterns. Embryos and tadpoles can be vulnerable to siltation.”
Source: Threatened Species Scientific Committee Conservation Advice
The planned reduction in headwater stream buffers from 10m to 5m under the new NSW IFOAs would impact this species. There is no applicable recovery plan for the Giant Barred Frog, only a 2017 Conservation Advice which identifies that it moves up to 20m from streams and is impacted by logging. The new NSW IFOA proposes removing survey requirements for Giant Barred Frog and the requirement for exclusion zones, thereby opening up all exclusion zones from the past 20 years to logging. The intent is also to reduce exclusion zones along headwater streams in catchments less than 20ha—which may have significant impacts on any populations in such areas and will have significant impacts water quality for any downstream populations. There has not been any monitoring to assess the effectiveness of the current prescription and there have not been any trials to assess how Giant Barred Frog will be affected by the new prescription. (Pugh, D., 2018)
Next: Numbat (WA)
Our forest wildlife in crisis: Numbats once lived across much of southern Australia but are now restricted to the South West of WA, due to habitat destruction and introduced predators.