The Growling Grass Frog Litoria raniformis has undergone population declines throughout its range over the past 20 years and is listed as a threatened species both in Victoria and nationally. The species was last recorded in 1979 in the area now occupied by the Portland Aluminium Smelter in southwestern Victoria, but the reasons for its disappearance from the area are unclear. Approximately 50 wetlands remain in the buffer zone of the smelter and we investigated the suitability of 20 of these wetlands for the reintroduction of the species. We measured a set of habitat parameters at the smelter (Smelter sites) and at five wetlands in south-western Victoria that had recent records of Growling Grass Frogs (Extant sites). Discriminant function analysis identified a number of variables that discriminated between Extant and Smelter sites, particularly the extent of algae and the percentage of shoreline covered by bare ground, by short terrestrial vegetation and by other cover types. We recommend the planting of emergent aquatic vegetation and the encouragement of floating and submerged vegetation to increase habitat suitability for Growling Grass Frogs in the smelter wetlands.
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October 14 2011
Assessing the suitability of wetlands for the reintroduction of the Growling Grass Frog Litoria raniformis Open Access
Sharada Ramamurthy;
Sharada Ramamurthy
1
Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
2
Department of Sustainability and Environment, 12/8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne, 3002, Australia
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Graeme Coulson
Graeme Coulson
1
Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
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Australian Zoologist (2008) 34 (3): 426–437.
Citation
Sharada Ramamurthy, Graeme Coulson; Assessing the suitability of wetlands for the reintroduction of the Growling Grass Frog Litoria raniformis. Australian Zoologist 1 October 2008; 34 (3): 426–437. doi: https://doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2008.020
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