Testing habitat additions to save frogs from pandemic disease
Testing whether thermal hotspots and salty pools can act as disease refuges, providing evidence to guide conservation actions by land managers across the state.
Research Cluster
Research partners
Darebin Creek Management Committee, Heidelberg Materials, Arthur Rylah Institute (DEECA), Merri-bek City Council
Project team
Dr Laura Brannelly (Senior Lecturer in One Health and Biostatistics, Melbourne Veterinary School), Professor Kirsten Parris (Professor of Urban Ecology, School of BioSciences)
Contact
Project summary
Frog saunas and frog spas might sound imaginative, but these small habitat additions could help save Victoria's threatened growling grass frog from a devastating fungal disease. This pilot study will test whether thermal hotspots and salty pools can act as disease refuges, providing evidence to guide conservation actions by land managers across the state.
What are we interested in?
Chytrid fungal disease poses a serious threat to frog populations, yet current management actions are time and resource intensive. Promising approaches like frog saunas and spas have shown success in NSW but haven't yet been tested in Victoria's cooler conditions.
The goals of our project
To experimentally test whether frog saunas and spas reduce chytrid infections in growling grass frogs, and determine which approach is most effective for broader deployment by conservation partners.
Outcomes / activities
This project will conduct field experiments across northern Melbourne with capture-recapture surveys to monitor disease dynamics, scientific publications, and pilot data to support a future.