House construction displacing habitat
© Craig Cleeland
Habitat loss
Destruction and disruption of habitat has been responsible for species loss across the entire planet. In Australia, current rates of land clearing are still among the highest in the world.
Frogs are susceptible to changes in their environments in a number of ways. Removal of plants and trees, changes to water supply and quality can result in frogs losing their food, their resting and hiding places and suitable mates.
Although governments and corporations may be behind large scale habitat destruction and loss, each and every person can play a significant part in preventing local level habitat loss. By understanding the impacts of our actions on the surrounding environment we can reduce habitat damage and help restore damaged ecosystems.
People can damage frog habitats when they...
- collect bush or creek rocks, which are used for shelter by some frogs,
- remove vegetation around aquatic habitats exposing frogs to increased siltation and reduced woody debris,
- frequently burn areas of bush which frogs shelter in,
- drain wetlands or clear areas of native vegetation for housing and agriculture,
- reduce the quality of wildlife corridors by removing native vegetation. This makes it difficult for frogs to move from one area to another.
Habitat fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation occurs when areas of natural habitat are segmented or separated by human developments and activities. It has been identified as contributing to frog declines.
Fragmentation can occur as cities expand into more rural areas, and the resulting development of roads disconnects native wildlife populations. Sometimes reserves can inadvertantly fragment populations because their atrifical boundaries fail to recognise migration lines between breeding populations.
As frogs have complex life cycles, they require different environments for different stages of their lives. If we want to protect frogs, we have to understand the need to protect all the environments frogs need for survival. For example, the protection of an aquatic breeding sites may be of little value if adjacent terrestrial habitats used by frogs for breeding and shelter are destroyed.