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Magnificent Brood Frog (Pseudophryne covacevichae)

The magnificent brood frog is a small, threatened terrestrial frog restricted to upland seepages and small drainage lines in north Queensland. It is relevant to development sites because its breeding habitat is localised, often occurs on unprotected land, and can be affected by clearing, earthworks, roads, grazing, sediment, altered drainage and water extraction.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Vulnerable.

Queensland, Nature Conservation Act 1992: Vulnerable.

Breeding season

Magnificent Brood Frogs breed in moist seepages and shallow drainage lines, with eggs laid in terrestrial nests and tadpoles developing in small pools after flooding. Clearing risk is highest during the wet season, but Paluma Range populations may call and breed into the dry season, so local rainfall and site history must guide timing.

Reproductive mode: Egg laying in terrestrial nests, followed by tadpole development in pools.

Clutch size: 6 to 82 eggs recorded; one small cluster is reported.

Incubation or gestation: Approximately 11 days of egg development on land.

Size at hatching or birth: Not recorded.

Age at maturity: Not recorded.

Nest or egg sites: Moist soil under dense tussock grass or leaf litter, in or near seepages and on the edges of shallow ephemeral drainage lines.

Breeding frequency: One clutch per year is reported.

Confirm timing at each site using recent rainfall, soil moisture and local calling records, because sustained wet conditions can shift breeding and calling by several months between regions.

  • Calling: Calling is strongest from December to March in Atherton Tablelands populations. Paluma Range populations can peak from May to July and may continue calling to October, with some sites showing a second peak in May.
  • Egg laying: Eggs are laid in terrestrial nests under tussock grass or leaf litter during wet-season breeding, mainly December to April. Egg laying may extend into the dry season at Paluma Range sites when local moisture persists.
  • Tadpoles: After rain floods the nest, tadpoles move into small pools in first-order streams. Larval habitat is recorded from September to March, and development takes at least one month or some weeks.
  • Metamorphs: The species-specific month of metamorph emergence is not recorded. This general timing follows the documented larval period and the related Red-backed Toadlet, which can metamorphose after at least 46 days and sometimes up to 112 days.
  • Active period: Primary activity and calling occur during the wet season, approximately December to April. Paluma Range frogs can remain active and calling from May to October, while activity outside calling periods is poorly known.
  • Dry season aestivation: Dry-season aestivation and refuge use have not been documented for this species. As general practice, retain leaf litter, tussock bases and moist ground cover from May to October because frogs may shelter there, including during the extended Paluma Range breeding period.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is highest from December to March, when Atherton Tablelands populations commonly call, lay eggs and produce tadpoles. Treat April to October as a continuing local risk in the Paluma Range, where breeding may be delayed or prolonged, and protect seepages and refuge cover year round.

Identification

This is a small, strongly patterned frog associated with wet seepages and small drainage lines. Identification in the field should combine the colour pattern, call, habitat and, where possible, tadpole or metamorph characters.

Adults have a bright rufous, rusty brown or yellow triangular patch running from the upper snout to the forehead. The colour continues along the back and is usually bordered by diffuse dark patches.

The sides and forearms are uneven grey with white and dark spots. The upper arms are bright yellow, the cloaca is surrounded by a bright yellow patch or line, and the underside is strongly marbled black and white.

The skin may have scattered tubercles above but is smooth below.

Adult length: 24 to 28 mm snout to vent length.

Call: A short, squelch-like 'ark' repeated at irregular intervals. Males may give rapid chirping calls when disturbed.

Identification: Distinguishing characters

The combination of the triangular rusty or yellow head marking, bright yellow upper arms and yellow cloacal marking distinguishes the species from other members of the genus in its known range.

Metamorphs have a pale yellow marking above the cloaca and cream-coloured upper arms. Tadpoles are generally black, with dark pigmentation on the upper fin and distal third of the lower fin. A pale patch develops where the tail meets the body when limbs form, becoming light yellow as the tail is resorbed.

  • Do not rely on a silent visual search alone. Calling males are more readily detected during suitable wet-season conditions, while non-calling individuals may be missed.
  • Confirm records with an experienced amphibian ecologist where the head, arm or cloacal markings are unclear.

Identification: Field signs

Calling males are usually found at the base of grass tussocks in seepage areas. Calls may also indicate breeding sites where eggs are concealed in moist soil or leaf litter.

Eggs are laid in terrestrial clutches under vegetation in or near seepages. After hatching, tadpoles move down the seepage or are washed into first order streams, where they develop in small pools.

  • Record the exact location of calling males, egg clutches, seepage edges, first order stream pools and any tadpoles or metamorphs.
  • Treat apparently suitable seepage, tussock and leaf litter habitat as occupied or potentially occupied until surveys are completed under appropriate conditions.

Distribution: National range

The magnificent brood frog is endemic to Queensland and has a small, fragmented distribution in upland north eastern Australia. The supplied sources identify two major population areas, near Ravenshoe on the south western Atherton Tablelands and in the Paluma Range.

The species is known only from Queensland. It occurs in the Wet Tropics bioregion, including the Ravenshoe area on the Atherton Tablelands and a smaller population in the Paluma Range approximately 160 km to the south.

The original recovery plan recorded 22 discrete sites containing 36 populations across an area approximately 27 km by 9 km near Ravenshoe.

State: Queensland only.

Main regions: South western Atherton Tablelands near Ravenshoe, and the Paluma Range.

Original Ravenshoe area: Approximately 27 km by 9 km.

Original known sites and populations: 22 discrete sites and 36 populations.

  • Potential habitat assessment should cover suitable upland seepages and small drainage lines, not only previously recorded sites.
  • Records may occur across state forests, timber reserves, national park, road reserves, local government reserve and freehold land.

Distribution: Strongholds and subpopulations

The original known records extended from Bluff State Forest to Ravenshoe State Forest and included Millstream National Park, Timber Reserve 245, State Forests 754, 488 and 251, road reserves, freehold land and the Ravenshoe rubbish dump reserve.

The more recent survey study treated the Ravenshoe and Paluma Range records as the two major population areas. The Paluma Range sites included Mount Zero-Taravale Wildlife Sanctuary.

Known Ravenshoe site tenures: State forest, timber reserve, national park, road reserve, local government reserve and freehold land.

Paluma Range example: Mount Zero-Taravale Wildlife Sanctuary.

Distribution: Population size and trend

A reliable total population estimate is not available. The original recovery plan reported one to 20 calling males per site, with most sites occupying less than 0.1 ha.

The Ravenshoe rubbish dump population declined after dump activities destroyed or modified habitat, and previously known populations were absent from that site. The scattered nature of populations and limited monitoring made broader trend assessment difficult.

Calling males per site: One to 20 reported in the original recovery plan.

Estimated total area of occupancy: Less than 50 ha in the original Ravenshoe assessment.

Population trend: Decline documented at the Ravenshoe rubbish dump site; overall trend remains poorly known.

Habitat: Habitat types

The species uses highly specific upland wet areas within open eucalypt forest and grazing country. Breeding habitat is concentrated around seepages, soaks, depressions and small first order drainage lines on suitable volcanic or granitic soils.

Known habitat includes seepage areas and streams in open eucalypt forests, including areas within grazing land. In the original Ravenshoe records, all sites were on rhyolites of the Glen Gordon Volcanics and above 800 m.

More recent information describes the species as restricted to open eucalypt woodlands on rhyolitic and granitic soils above approximately 700 m.

Geology: Rhyolitic bedrock in the original Ravenshoe records; more recent records also refer to granitic soils.

Elevation: Above 800 m in the original Ravenshoe records; more recent information reports above approximately 700 m.

Water features: Seepages, soaks, depressions, first order streams and small pools.

  • Prioritise survey and impact assessment in upland soaks, seepages, shallow drainage lines and small gullies.
  • Include habitat upslope and upslope of drainage lines where earthworks could alter groundwater or surface flow.

Habitat: Vegetation and structure

Recorded canopy species include Eucalyptus acmenoides, Eucalyptus citriodora, Eucalyptus intermedia, Eucalyptus leichhardtii, Eucalyptus reducta, Eucalyptus resinifera and Syncarpia glomulifera.

The understorey includes Themeda triandra tussocks, Xanthorrhoea, Gahnia, Lophostemon suaveolens, Allocasuarina littoralis and Allocasuarina torulosa. Most seepages support Themeda tussocks.

Where cattle have reduced tussock cover, frogs have been found in leaf litter build-up within first order streams.

  • Retain tussock cover, leaf litter, seepage vegetation and small stream pools.
  • Avoid clearing or compacting the wet margins of drainage lines and the vegetation immediately around seepages.

Habitat: Hydrological setting

The species appears dependent on wet seepage conditions and shallow ephemeral drainage lines. Roads, cuttings, logging, clearing and water extraction can alter water quality, groundwater or surface flow.

Regrowth forest may use more water than old growth and may reduce seepage. Siltation can cover seepage areas after erosion from clearing or logging.

  • Map seepage lines and first order streams before site design and earthworks.
  • Assess groundwater removal, water extraction, impoundment, cut and fill, drainage diversion and sediment movement as potential habitat impacts.

Foraging habitat: Diet

The diet and detailed foraging ecology of the magnificent brood frog are poorly known. Available information indicates a terrestrial frog that probably feeds on small ground dwelling arthropods within or near moist ground cover.

The original recovery plan states that the diet is unknown but is likely to consist of small ground dwelling arthropods.

No particular prey plants, prey taxa, feeding rate or foraging distance is reported in the supplied documents.

Known diet: Not confirmed. Small ground dwelling arthropods are considered likely prey.

  • Retain leaf litter, grass tussocks, damp ground cover and the soil surface around seepages because these features may support prey and provide feeding habitat.
  • Do not infer absence from a cleared or dry surface if nearby seepage and ground cover remain connected.

Foraging habitat: Foraging area

A defined home range or foraging distance has not been reported. Adults are associated with seepage areas, tussock bases, leaf litter and first order stream margins, so these areas should be treated as functional habitat rather than as isolated calling points.

  • Assess the complete moist ground unit around each seepage, including tussock bases, leaf litter, shallow drainage lines and small pools.
  • Avoid removing ground cover or changing soil moisture around occupied sites during clearing and construction.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding occurs in wet seepage areas and shallow drainage lines. Eggs are laid on land, but tadpole development continues in small pools downstream or within first order streams.

Males call from the base of grass tussocks in seepage areas, generally on warm, wet summer and autumn nights. Eggs are laid in moist soil under vegetation in or near a seepage.

Egg development appears to pause before hatching. After hatching, tadpoles move down the seepage or are washed into first order streams and continue development in small pools.

Breeding season: Approximately December to May. Males call mainly during the wet season, especially summer and autumn.

Egg clutch size: Six to 82 eggs recorded in the field.

Egg diameter: Approximately 2 mm.

Egg laying site: Moist soil in or near a seepage, usually under vegetation.

Tadpole habitat: Small pools in first order streams after movement from the seepage.

Gestation or incubation: Not reported. Egg development appears to pause before hatching.

Age at maturity and lifespan: Not reported in the supplied documents.

  • Survey calling habitat and egg laying habitat together. A calling location may be connected to downstream larval pools.
  • Protect the seepage, shallow drainage line, tussock cover, leaf litter and small pools from trampling, sedimentation and changed water flow.

Breeding habitat: Breeding site features

Breeding sites are seepages, soaks and shallow ephemeral drainage lines in open eucalypt forest or suitable grazing areas. Males call at the base of grass tussocks, and eggs may be hidden under vegetation or leaf litter.

The survey guidelines recommend focusing on soaks and depressions at the headwaters of streams and soaks on the sides of streams. They recommend transects of at least 200 m in soaks and wet areas when surveying suitable habitat.

Recommended survey transect: At least 200 m in suitable soaks and wet areas, with repeated surveys over several periods where required.

  • Retain natural seepage outlets, tussocks, leaf litter and small pools.
  • Prevent sediment, concrete washout, fuel, wastewater and spoil from entering seepages or first order streams.
  • Maintain drainage continuity through project design and avoid concentrating runoff into breeding habitat.

Sheltering habitat: Refuge features

The species has no reported burrow, hollow or den. Available information indicates shelter in damp ground cover, especially leaf litter, tussocks and vegetation around seepages and small streams.

The survey guidelines report that individuals may shelter in leaf litter. Adults and breeding males are associated with the bases of grass tussocks in seepages.

The original recovery plan does not define a dry-season refuge or movement pattern. This uncertainty means that habitat outside the calling period should not be treated as unused.

Known refuge: Leaf litter.

Known active microhabitat: Bases of grass tussocks in seepage areas.

Refuge dimensions: Not reported.

Dry-season habitat: Not known.

  • Retain leaf litter, tussock bases, fallen vegetation and moist soil around seepages.
  • Avoid stock access, machinery movement, soil compaction and hand removal of cover from potential refuge areas.
  • Use frog hygiene measures when moving between sites and water bodies to reduce disease transmission risk.

Sheltering habitat: Site protection

Because known populations are small and habitat patches are localised, the original recovery plan treats all known habitat as important for survival.

Recommended protection measures include fencing seepage areas in heavily grazed locations and retaining vegetation buffers around seepages and first order streams.

  • Fence or otherwise exclude machinery, vehicles, stock and construction access from seepages and wet ground where practicable.
  • Set buffers during project planning based on hydrology and sediment risk, not only on the point where a frog or call was recorded.
  • Inspect refuge habitat after heavy rain, earthworks and drainage changes for sediment deposition, drying or trampling.

Threats: Clearing and construction

Habitat loss and degradation are the main documented threats. Risks are high because many sites occur on land without formal protection and the breeding habitat depends on local seepage and drainage conditions.

Clearing, development, logging, road works and grazing can reduce or destroy seepage habitat. The original recovery plan reported that 97 percent of known sites were on unprotected land, mainly state forest or timber reserve.

Earthworks can compact soil, remove tussocks and leaf litter, interrupt seepage flow, divert runoff or introduce sediment into small pools and first order streams.

Sites on unprotected land: 97 percent in the original recovery plan.

Sites in protected national park: Approximately 3 percent of known populations in the original recovery plan.

  • Avoid clearing occupied or potentially occupied seepages, wet depressions, tussock bases and first order stream margins.
  • Complete threatened species assessment before approving activities that may affect known or potential habitat.
  • Keep spoil, sediment, concrete washout, chemicals and waste away from seepages and small streams.

Threats: Hydrology and sediment

Grazing and trampling can degrade or destroy seepages used for breeding. Erosion after logging or clearing can cause siltation and cover seepage areas.

Roads and cuttings can change water quality and hydrology. Water extraction, groundwater removal and impoundment may reduce or alter seepage habitat. Regrowth forest may use more water than old growth and reduce seepage.

  • Assess surface water and groundwater pathways before road, track, turbine, utility, drainage or foundation works.
  • Control erosion and sediment at the source, particularly upslope of seepages and first order streams.
  • Do not assume that a dry seepage is unsuitable habitat without considering seasonal conditions and the species' poorly known dry-season use.

Threats: Fragmentation and access

The species occurs in scattered, small populations. Clearing or modification of individual seepages can remove a local population and may reduce connectivity between nearby wet areas.

Roads, tracks and construction activity can cause direct habitat loss, altered drainage, trampling and increased sediment delivery.

  • Retain continuous wet drainage lines and native ground cover between breeding and refuge areas where practicable.
  • Restrict vehicle and machinery access around seepages, wet depressions and first order streams.
  • Use repeated monitoring because a failure to detect calling frogs does not demonstrate absence.

Threats: Fire, predators and disease

The supplied documents do not identify fire, introduced predators or a named disease as quantified threats for this species. Fire may nevertheless affect tussocks, leaf litter, soil moisture and seepage vegetation, so fire planning should consider these habitat features.

Disease risk should be managed as a general amphibian field practice, particularly when personnel, equipment or water are moved between sites.

  • Record fire history and the condition of tussocks, leaf litter and seepage vegetation during habitat assessment.
  • Follow recognised frog hygiene procedures between sites, especially where equipment has contacted water, mud or frogs.
  • Do not introduce fish, water, soil or aquatic material between drainage lines.

Survey methodology: 1. Habitat assessment and transects

Survey this species in its specialised upland seepage habitat, during the wet season and under wet conditions. A negative result from poorly timed or too few surveys does not demonstrate absence, because calling and detection vary with soil moisture, recent rainfall and calling activity.

Before night surveys, inspect and map seepage areas, soaks, depressions at stream headwaters, first and second order drainage lines, and wet areas on rhyolitic or granitic soils above about 700 to 800 metres elevation.

Prioritise open eucalypt forest, woodland and grazing areas containing seepages, grass tussocks, leaf litter and small pools in first order streams.

Use transects along suitable drainage lines, with at least 200 metres of transect through soaks and wet areas where the habitat permits.

Record habitat condition, including hydrology, vegetation cover, grazing or trampling, erosion, siltation, roads, cuttings and other disturbances.

Known macrohabitat: Seepage areas and streams in eucalypt forests and grazing areas on rhyolitic bedrock.

Known elevation: Records in the recovery plan are above 800 metres; recent material describes habitat above 700 metres.

Transect length: Minimum 200 metres in suitable soaks and wet areas.

Survey methodology: 2. Nocturnal call and habitat surveys

Survey at night during the species' active and breeding period, generally December to May, with males calling in warm, wet summer and autumn conditions.

Time surveys after rainfall and when soil and seepage areas are wet, rather than relying on a calendar date alone.

Walk the transect slowly and listen for the short, squelch-like ark call, which is repeated at irregular intervals. Males call from the base of grass tussocks in seepage areas.

Combine call detection with a careful habitat search for frogs sheltering in leaf litter and around seepages, while avoiding unnecessary trampling of breeding areas.

Search for larvae in small pools in first order streams, but treat larval sampling as supplementary because larvae are difficult to find and identify.

Survey season in the guideline: Summer to autumn, with the species account listing December to May.

Recommended effort: At least four nights under ideal conditions.

Call location: Base of grass tussocks in seepage areas.

Larval habitat: Small pools in first order streams.

Survey methodology: 3. Repeat surveys and detection conditions

Repeat surveys over several periods and include reference sites where feasible, especially where the project could affect a seepage system or connected drainage line.

Use the same marked transect on repeat visits and record rainfall, soil moisture, recent rainfall, temperature, start and finish times, observers and survey conditions.

Do not treat a single dry-weather survey, a survey outside the calling period or a survey with no calling males as evidence that the species is absent.

Where practicable, schedule surveys under average to excellent moisture conditions. Recent research found that detection was strongly associated with volumetric soil moisture and rainfall accumulated over the previous five days.

The recent repeat-survey study found approximately 96 percent cumulative detection after three surveys under average conditions and approximately 98 percent detection after one survey under excellent conditions. Under poor conditions, six surveys produced less than 40 percent cumulative detection probability.

Recent study design: Repeat aural surveys at known sites, generally three visits per site, using 100 metre transects parallel to drainage lines.

Survey timing in the recent study: At least 40 minutes after sunset, with surveys completed by 23:30.

Poor conditions: Less than 40 percent cumulative detection after six surveys in the recent analysis.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Complete at least four nights of call and habitat surveys under suitable wet conditions, using transects through seepages and wet drainage lines.
  • Repeat the survey across several periods where conditions are poor, the species is not detected, the site is proposed for disturbance, or the habitat is fragmented or difficult to search.
  • Have survey personnel who can identify local frogs by call and appearance, and record the evidence supporting each detection.
  • Record the survey boundary, transect length, dates, times, weather, rainfall, soil or ground moisture, observers, methods, call locations, frogs seen, tadpole observations and habitat condition.
  • Map all detections and potential breeding habitat, and provide the information to the project ecologist and relevant approval authority.
  • Submit confirmed records and suitable negative-survey data to the relevant Queensland wildlife database, such as the state database nominated by the regulator, and to the relevant Australian Government reporting system where required.
  • Retain original call recordings, photographs, field sheets, GPS data and chain-of-custody information for any specimens or tissue samples.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise impacts

Treat all known and suitable seepage habitat as potentially important. The species has a small, fragmented distribution, small populations and highly restricted breeding habitat, so project planning should avoid damage to seepages and their drainage connections wherever possible.

  • Redesign the project footprint to avoid seepage areas, soaks, first order streams, small breeding pools and the wet drainage lines that connect them.
  • Retain grass tussocks, leaf litter, open eucalypt vegetation and the vegetation around seepages and first order streams.
  • Maintain hydrological flows to seepages and pools, and prevent diversion, drainage, groundwater removal, impoundment, erosion and siltation.
  • Retain connected areas of suitable habitat between known or potential populations, rather than isolating individual seepages.
  • Keep construction traffic, stockpiles, spoil, sediment controls and worker access outside retained seepage habitat.
  • Apply the precautionary approach to suitable high elevation rhyolitic or granitic habitat where survey conditions were inadequate.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and project planning

  • Confirm the EPBC Act requirements before works begin because the magnificent brood frog is nationally listed as vulnerable.
  • Confirm Queensland Nature Conservation Act requirements, protected wildlife permits and any state survey, collection, handling or relocation authorisations with the Queensland regulator.
  • Assess proposed clearing, roads, cuttings, water extraction, impoundment, development and infrastructure against their potential effects on frog sites, hydrology and water quality.
  • Schedule ground disturbance outside the main calling and breeding period of December to May where practicable, while recognising that weather can trigger activity and that suitable habitat may still need protection outside that period.
  • Prepare a species-specific fauna management plan that defines exclusion zones, sediment and hydrology controls, spotter catcher authority, stop-work triggers, reporting and emergency contacts.
  • Stage works so that only the area needed for the next activity is opened, and retain undisturbed seepage habitat until the relevant works are complete.

Before habitat disturbance: Site preparation

  • Complete a targeted pre-clearance survey under suitable wet conditions before finalising the clearing boundary.
  • Mark known and potential seepages, wet drainage lines, grass-tussock breeding areas, first order streams, small pools and retained vegetation on site plans and on the ground.
  • Install exclusion fencing around retained habitat where fencing can prevent machinery, vehicles, workers, stock and spoil from entering the area without diverting water into the habitat.
  • Brief machinery operators and the fauna spotter catcher on the marked exclusion zones, access routes, hydrology controls and the procedure for a frog detection.
  • Inspect sediment and erosion controls before clearing, and place them so that they do not obstruct or drain seepage areas.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery interface

The fauna spotter catcher should control the interface between machinery and retained or disturbed habitat. Work must stop when clearing enters an exclusion zone, a frog is found, or an activity threatens seepage hydrology, water quality or breeding habitat.

  • Hold a daily pre-start briefing covering the mapped habitat, exclusion fencing, weather, rainfall, access routes, machinery sequence, spotter catcher authority and emergency contacts.
  • Inspect exclusion fencing, sediment controls, drainage diversions and wet areas before machinery moves, and repair any failure immediately.
  • Keep the fauna spotter catcher in a position where the operator can see the spotter's stop signal and where the spotter can inspect the immediate work area safely.
  • Clear in small stages, starting only after the fauna spotter catcher has checked the active area and confirmed that the next movement is safe.
  • Prevent machinery, vehicles and workers from entering seepages, first order streams, small pools, grass-tussock breeding areas and retained leaf litter unless the approved method specifically allows it.
  • Stop work during intense rainfall or runoff if machinery, sediment or altered drainage could affect seepages, streams or small pools.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat features and hydrology

  • Do not remove or cover grass tussocks, leaf litter, logs, rocks or other ground cover in retained seepage habitat unless the approved impact method requires it.
  • Treat shallow seepages, soaks, depressions, first order streams and small pools as breeding habitat, even when no frog is seen.
  • Keep spoil, concrete washout, fuel, chemicals, mulch and sediment away from wet areas and drainage lines.
  • Do not alter groundwater, surface flow or the shape of a seepage without approval and a documented hydrology control method.
  • If a log, rock, leaf-litter patch or other ground feature must be moved within the approved footprint, inspect it first and have the fauna spotter catcher control the movement.

During habitat disturbance: If a frog is found

  • Stop the activity that could affect the frog and establish a safe exclusion area around the animal and its immediate habitat.
  • Ask only an appropriately authorised person to capture, handle or relocate the frog, and follow the approved fauna management plan and permit conditions.
  • Minimise handling, keep the frog cool, moist and shaded, and do not hold it longer than needed to make the site safe or complete an authorised relocation.
  • Relocate the frog only where authorised, to nearby retained suitable habitat that is connected to the affected area and has appropriate seepage, ground cover and hydrology.
  • Do not move tadpoles, egg clutches or frogs between catchments or to an unapproved release site.
  • Take an injured frog to an authorised wildlife carer or veterinarian as soon as practicable, and notify the relevant regulator where required.
  • Record the species, life stage, GPS location, habitat, condition, action taken, release location, permit details, time and personnel.

During habitat disturbance: Stop-work triggers and records

  • Stop work if a magnificent brood frog, egg clutch or tadpole is found in the active work area until the fauna spotter catcher and project ecologist confirm the response.
  • Stop work if exclusion fencing fails, machinery crosses a habitat boundary, sediment enters a seepage or drainage line, or works alter water flow to breeding habitat.
  • Stop work if a previously unmapped seepage, wet depression, first order stream or small pool is exposed during clearing.
  • Maintain daily records of cleared area, weather, rainfall, machinery, personnel, habitat inspections, detections, incidents, relocations, injuries, control failures and corrective actions.
  • Report any unexpected impact, mortality, injury, unauthorised handling or hydrological change to the project environmental officer and the relevant approval authority.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance inspection

Post-clearance work must confirm that the disturbance boundary was respected and that retained seepages continue to function. Monitoring should focus on detection under suitable conditions, not only on whether a frog is seen during a routine inspection.

  • Inspect the completed work area and all retained habitat for damaged fencing, machinery incursions, erosion, sediment deposition, altered drainage, drying seepages and loss of grass tussocks or leaf litter.
  • Complete a post-clearance frog and habitat check before removing the fauna spotter catcher from the site.
  • Repair or reinstate exclusion fencing, drainage controls and sediment controls until the site is stable and the project environmental officer authorises their removal.
  • Check all temporary access routes, crossings, stockpiles and spoil areas for impacts on first order streams, seepages and small pools.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

  • Monitor retained and rehabilitated habitat during the next suitable wet-season calling period, using the species-specific call and habitat methods rather than relying on daytime visual searches.
  • Use repeated surveys over several periods and record soil moisture, recent rainfall, survey timing and effort so that non-detection can be interpreted correctly.
  • Compare post-work observations with pre-work habitat maps, call locations, breeding observations and hydrology records.
  • Report survey results, incidents, corrective actions, frog records, injuries, mortalities, relocations and rehabilitation progress to the approval authority and relevant state wildlife database.
  • Retain monitoring data, call recordings, photographs, maps and field sheets for the period required by the approval or fauna management plan.

After habitat disturbance: Ongoing controls and offsets

  • Maintain exclusion zones, hydrology controls, sediment controls and access restrictions for as long as construction or post-construction activities could affect seepages or drainage lines.
  • Investigate any decline in calling activity, drying seepage, increased siltation or loss of ground cover promptly with the project ecologist.
  • Implement any approved offset, restoration or conservation agreement required under the EPBC Act, Queensland legislation or project approval.
  • Do not use an offset or a relocation as a substitute for avoiding and minimising impacts at known or suitable breeding habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore habitat structure and hydrology

Rehabilitation should restore the small, wet breeding features used by this frog, not just replace cleared tree cover. Set objectives around seepage hydrology, ground cover, first order drainage lines and frog detection during suitable wet-season conditions.

Recorded overstorey examples: Eucalyptus acmenoides, Eucalyptus citriodora, Eucalyptus intermedia, Eucalyptus leichhardtii, Eucalyptus reducta, Eucalyptus resinifera and Syncarpia glomulifera.

Recorded understorey examples: Themeda triandra, Xanthorrhoea species, Gahnia species, Lophostemon suaveolens, Allocasuarina littoralis and Allocasuarina torulosa.

  • Reinstate natural drainage patterns and shallow wet areas where construction has compacted, diverted or filled seepage habitat.
  • Regrade disturbed ground to prevent erosion and siltation of seepages and first order streams, while avoiding concentration of runoff into breeding pools.
  • Re-establish dense grass tussocks and suitable leaf-litter cover around seepages, because males call at the base of tussocks and adults may shelter in leaf litter.
  • Use local native vegetation appropriate to the original open eucalypt forest, including locally suitable species recorded from the habitat such as Themeda triandra, Xanthorrhoea species, Gahnia species, Allocasuarina littoralis and Allocasuarina torulosa.
  • Retain or reinstate logs, rocks and other natural ground cover where they occur in the original habitat, and do not place them in a way that blocks seepage flow.
  • Do not install hollows or nest boxes as a substitute for seepage and ground habitat, because the supplied species information does not identify hollow-bearing trees as a habitat requirement.

Rehabilitation actions: Manage grazing, weeds, predators and fire

  • Exclude cattle and other stock from restored seepages until vegetation and ground cover are established, and retain fencing where grazing would cause trampling or loss of tussock cover.
  • Control weeds without disturbing seepage soils, grass tussocks, leaf litter or small pools, and use methods approved for amphibian habitat.
  • Assess predator control as part of the site management plan if monitoring identifies predation or introduced predators as a problem.
  • Prepare a fire management approach with the land manager that protects seepage moisture, tussock cover, leaf litter and first order drainage lines, because the supplied documents do not define a species-specific fire interval or intensity.
  • Avoid burning restored habitat unless the ecological objective, timing, method and safeguards have been assessed by the project ecologist and approved by the land manager.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitor success

  • Inspect restored areas after rainfall for functioning seepages, stable drainage lines, absence of fresh siltation and continued water flow to small pools.
  • Measure establishment of tussock and ground cover, weed cover, erosion, grazing damage and hydrological condition against the approved rehabilitation baseline.
  • Survey restored and reference sites during the December to May calling period, using at least four suitable nights where the site is being assessed for occupancy.
  • Repeat surveys under suitable wet conditions and interpret non-detections using recent rainfall and soil moisture records.
  • Set success measures for stable seepage hydrology, protected first order drainage lines, established native ground cover, no continuing sediment source, no stock access and detection of the species or continued use by suitable frog fauna.
  • Continue corrective works until the approved rehabilitation objectives are met and provide the results to the relevant regulator and wildlife database where records are obtained.

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