FrogID Week 2024: Citizen Scientists Capture Over 34,000 Frog Records Nationwide

The seventh annual FrogID Week has once again gathered a vital snapshot for frog conservation thanks to tens of thousands of citizen scientists.

With one in five frog species in Australia at risk of extinction, understanding where frogs occur and how their populations are changing is more important than ever. By recording frog calls with the Australian Museum’s free FrogID app, we can work together to gather the crucial data needed to protect our remarkable amphibians. Since every Australian frog species has a unique call, each submission – reviewed by frog call experts at the Australian Museum, including Dr Jodi Rowley, Lead Scientist of FrogID – contributes to Australia’s largest frog database. This invaluable resource enhances our understanding of frog distributions, aids in species discoveries, and provides critical insights for conservation.

To build on this knowledge, the FrogID project has held an annual FrogID Week event since 2017. Each November, thousands of citizen scientists use the FrogID app to record and submit frog calls across the country. This nationwide effort provides a valuable snapshot of frog populations while raising awareness of Australia’s unique frogs and their vital role in healthy ecosystems.

During 8-17 November 2024, the Australian Museum hosted its seventh annual FrogID Week, again representing one of the most rapid data collection events for frogs globally. On the 12th of November, 4,714 frogs were recorded in just 24 hours – that’s more than three frog records per minute!

FrogID Week 2024 saw incredible participation, with 4,175 people collectively submitting over 18,700 frog call recordings – the third-highest number of participants in FrogID Week history! Our Australian Museum team listened to an outstanding number of submissions, resulting in a massive 34,000 frog records, adding to the ever-growing FrogID database, which now exceeds 1.2 million records in just seven years. FrogID Week 2024’s data alone accounts for approximately 3% of all FrogID records to date.

A total of 112 frog species were recorded during FrogID Week 2024, representing nearly half (44%) of all Australian frog species. Notable finds included the Kimberley Spadefoot (Notaden weigeli), a rarely recorded species from northwest Western Australia with just 13 records in the FrogID database. The recently named Coastal Banjo Frog (Limnodynastes superciliaris), a species described with the help of FrogID recordings and likely facing increasing threats from habitat loss, was also recorded. Several high conservation priority species were recorded, including the Vulnerable New England Tree Frog (Litoria daviesae) and the Endangered Booroolong Frog (Litoria booroolongensis), both stream-dwelling frogs from eastern Australia, as well as the Critically Endangered Kuranda Tree Frog (Litoria myola) from north Queensland.

FrogID Week 2024 also achieved impressive spatial coverage, with recordings spanning approximately 12% of continental Australia. Excitingly, we received frog calls from two previously unsampled areas – Cook in Far North Queensland and Prairie in northwestern Queensland – helping to fill crucial knowledge gaps, particularly in remote regions where little scientific data on frogs exists. Notably, Queensland saw an extraordinary surge in frog records, more than doubling its previous highest total and accounting for 32% of all FrogID Week 2024 submissions!

The call of the Kimberley Spadefoot (Notaden weigeli), a rarely recorded species, was submitted during FrogID Week 2024 by Jake Barker from northwest Western Australia.

A big congratulations to Kat Hadley, the winner of our FrogID Week 2024 Top Frogger competition! Kat secured the top spot by submitting an impressive total of 1,407 frog records. Michele Brook and Henry Lewis also showcased outstanding dedication with 767 and 632 frog records, respectively. After coming so close to first position in previous FrogID Weeks, we’re thrilled for Kat’s well-earned win and grateful for the dedication shown by all participants.

Each year, FrogID Week contributes vital data to the national FrogID database, helping scientists and land managers track trends and monitor changes in frog populations over time. The efforts of thousands – whether close to home or further afield – make a real difference for frog conservation. Thank you to everyone who took part!

Save the date: the next FrogID Week will take place November 7th to 16th, 2025.

More information:

For scientific outputs of FrogID, visit https://www.frogid.net.au/science

To become a FrogID Week partner, contact our Partnership Sales Manager on (02) 9320 6450, partnerships@australian.museum

For previous FrogID Week blogs, visit: https://australian.museum/blog

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the generous donors who have provided funding for the project; our Museum partners, the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Museums Victoria, Queensland Museum, South Australian Museum, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, and Western Australian Museum; the many Australian Museum staff and volunteers who make up the FrogID team; and, most importantly, the thousands of citizen scientists across Australia who have volunteered their time to record frog calls with FrogID.