Endangered green and golden bell frogs in the north of Ash Island can now mix more easily with their friends on the island's south.
Volunteers, government and industry partners are creating a series of new ponds so the two parts of the Kooragang bell frog population can meet up on the island within the Hunter Wetlands National Park.
Trees in Newcastle Volunteers recently joined National Parks and Wildlife Service staff to plant out the ponds.
As well as helping to connect habitat, the ponds will provide refuges in dry periods and breeding habitat to help rebuild frog numbers.
The ponds came about after the University of Newcastle worked with the state government's Saving our Species program and industry partners to monitor green and golden bell frogs across the National Parks and Wildlife Service and industry-managed wetlands.
The university identified there was very little movement between the smaller northern bell frog subpopulation and the larger southern subpopulation. It recommended placing a series of artificial 'cluster ponds' across the island to help the frogs mingle.
'The green and golden bell frogs of Ash Island need our help to find each other, and to start rebuilding their numbers in the north," National Parks and Wildlife Service project officer Erica Goldsmith said.
'The construction of new "pathways" - or frog ponds - across the island is vital to enable this endangered species of frog to meet up, and it wouldn't be happening without our funders, partners, and local volunteers.
'This project is very "Newcastle". Its collaborative approach to conservation reflects the Novocastrian spirit of helping, mateship and respect for the local environment.'
Each new 'cluster pond' has one large, 1.5 m deep circular tank-pond to provide permanent freshwater as a refuge during dry periods or when wetlands become hypersaline, and a shallow 3-chamber trough to provide preferred breeding habitat.
Frogs can enter the lower ponds for a quick dip-and-meet or hop up rock-basket ramps to jump into the large tank for a deep dive with fellow amphibians.
The wired-together rock ramps also provide holes in cracks and crevices, in which the frogs can heat up from the sun-warmed rocks. Heat can help frogs shed the deadly chytrid fungus which emerged worldwide 25 years ago and is one of their biggest threats - with the rocks acting similarly to the famous 'frog saunas' that went viral this year.
The ponds are also raised above ground-level, preventing tiny, introduced tadpole- and egg-eating fish called gambusia from washing into them after heavy rain.
Following the success of the first prototype pond that was set up in mid-2023, a further 7 cluster ponds were installed in June this year and are now being planted out. There is potential to build up to 20 more ponds over the next 4 years.
