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Mountain-top Nursery Frog (Cophixalus monticola)

The mountain-top nursery frog is a thumbnail-sized terrestrial frog restricted to high-elevation cloud forest on Mt Lewis in Far North Queensland. It breeds in leaf litter associated with small palms, and development or infrastructure work can damage its very limited breeding and feeding habitat through clearing, ground disturbance, altered moisture conditions and access for feral pigs.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Critically endangered.

Queensland, Nature Conservation Act 1992: Critically endangered.

Breeding season

Mountain-top Nursery Frogs are terrestrial direct developers. Males call and eggs are laid in palm foliage or leaf litter from about October to March, so clearing and ground disturbance should avoid this period where practicable.

Reproductive mode: Terrestrial egg laying with direct development. Tadpoles develop inside the egg and hatch as froglets.

Clutch size or Litter size: Small clusters of eggs; numerical clutch size is not recorded.

Incubation or Gestation: Not recorded.

Size at hatching or birth: Not recorded for this species. Microhylid froglets are reported at approximately 4 mm.

Age at maturity: Not recorded.

Nest or egg sites: Under leaf litter, on Linospadix apetiolatus palm leaves and on the ground beneath small palms.

Breeding frequency: Not recorded.

Confirm timing locally before works, because calling and breeding are linked to rainfall and wet season conditions, and altitude and local temperature may affect activity at sites such as Mt Lewis.

  • Calling: Males generally call from elevated positions in small palms from October to March. Calls are associated with the summer wet season and rainfall, but no peak months are recorded.
  • Egg laying: Eggs are laid from about October to March in leaf litter, on palm leaves or on the ground beneath small palms. Males protect small egg clusters.
  • Eggs in nest: This species is a direct developer, so eggs remain in terrestrial nests rather than producing free-swimming tadpoles. Egg development and hatching dates are not recorded, so the egg period is mapped to the documented October to March breeding season.
  • Froglets: Froglets hatch directly from the eggs, but the timing of hatching and departure from the nest is not recorded. The months shown follow the documented October to March breeding period and the general direct-development pattern of Australian microhylids.
  • Active period: A separate activity season is not recorded for this species. Australian Cophixalus generally call and move during the wet season, about September to February, while this species is documented breeding from about October to March and calling after rain.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is highest from October to March, when calling males, eggs and developing froglets may occur in palm foliage and leaf litter. Clearing or ground disturbance can also remove shelter and feeding habitat outside the breeding season.

Identification

This is a very small, high-elevation nursery frog associated with dense cloud forest on Mt Lewis. Identification in the field is likely to depend on its call, location and breeding habitat because the supplied documents do not provide a full diagnostic description or photographs.

Adults are roughly thumbnail-sized and 2 cm or smaller.

The species is found in dense, high-altitude cloud forest near the summit ridges of Mt Lewis, rather than in general lowland rainforest.

Adult length: 2 cm or smaller.

Weight: Not reported.

Identification: Calls and breeding signs

Males call from elevated positions in the small palm Linospadix apetiolatus, using the palm to project their calls.

Eggs are laid in leaf litter on palm leaves or on the ground, and the developing froglets remain within the eggs until hatching.

  • Treat a small frog call from high-elevation cloud forest, especially near Linospadix apetiolatus palms, as a potential detection requiring expert confirmation.
  • Inspect leaf litter and palm foliage carefully because egg clusters may occur on or close to the ground.

Identification: Similar species and field signs

The supplied documents do not provide distinguishing markings, sex-specific features or a comparison with other Cophixalus species.

A call recording, clear photograph and precise location should be retained for expert identification where a frog is found outside the known Mt Lewis range or where visual identification is uncertain.

  • Do not identify the species from size alone because several small nursery frogs occur in Queensland.
  • Record the call, elevation, vegetation, palm presence and exact position of any suspected individual or egg site.
  • Do not disturb leaf litter or palm foliage more than necessary during inspection.

Distribution: National range

The mountain-top nursery frog has one of the most restricted ranges of any Australian frog. The supplied documents identify only Mt Lewis National Park and nearby high mountain-top ridges in the Queensland Wet Tropics.

The species is known only from the Mt Lewis area near Julatten, north of Cairns, Queensland.

In regional terms, this is the Queensland Wet Tropics. No records from other Australian states or territories are given in the supplied documents.

State: Queensland.

Known region: Queensland Wet Tropics, around Mt Lewis near Julatten.

Known site context: High mountain-top ridges and cloud forest in Mt Lewis National Park.

Distribution: Population and trend

A total population size is not reported in the supplied documents.

The recorded calling range has shifted upslope. Calls were detected at 1,100 metres in 2003, but none were detected there in 2023, while calls were detected at 1,200 metres and above.

This indicates a substantial contraction from lower parts of the known elevational range, although calling activity is not a direct population count.

Estimated population size: Not reported.

Extinction probability by 2040: 47 percent under the assessment scenario used in the study.

Calling records: Detected at 1,100 metres in 2003, not detected at 1,100 metres in 2023, and detected at 1,200 metres or higher in 2023.

Distribution: Known sites and subpopulations

The supplied documents do not identify separate genetic or demographic subpopulations.

Current field work includes 10 fenced breeding sites and 10 unfenced control plots. These plots are about 60 metres apart, allowing calling activity to be monitored separately.

Fenced breeding sites: 10.

Unfenced control plots: 10.

Approximate plot separation: 60 metres.

Habitat: Forest type and structure

The species occupies dense, cool and moist cloud forest on the highest parts of Mt Lewis. Its usable habitat depends on intact leaf litter, small palms and the humid conditions of the mountain-top forest.

The known habitat is high-altitude cloud forest and dense rainforest near the summit of Mt Lewis.

Important structural features include an intact leaf-litter layer, small Linospadix apetiolatus palms, palm foliage and tree seedlings.

The same leaf litter provides both breeding sites and feeding zones.

  • Retain intact leaf litter wherever work is proposed in suitable cloud forest.
  • Avoid removing or damaging Linospadix apetiolatus palms and associated seedlings.
  • Keep machinery, vehicle access and spoil away from undisturbed forest-floor habitat.

Habitat: Elevation and climate limits

The species is restricted to high mountain-top habitat. Calls were recorded at 1,100 metres in 2003 and at 1,200 metres or higher in 2023.

The highest points of the range are just over 1,300 metres, leaving little scope for further upslope movement if warming continues.

The species depends on cool, moist conditions, and climate change is identified as a major threat to range-restricted montane frogs.

Historical call elevation: 1,100 metres in 2003.

Recent call elevation: 1,200 metres and above in 2023.

Upper mountain elevation: Just over 1,300 metres.

Foraging habitat: Feeding habitat

The supplied documents provide limited information on diet. They indicate that the species feeds in deep leaf litter, where prey and moisture are associated with intact forest-floor habitat.

Deep leaf litter is identified as a feeding zone for the species.

Feral pigs remove or churn this layer, leaving bare soil and reducing both feeding and breeding habitat.

  • Retain deep, undisturbed leaf litter in and around suspected habitat.
  • Prevent raking, grading, trampling, stockpiling or vehicle movement across the forest floor.
  • Keep cleared material and soil from covering adjacent leaf litter.

Foraging habitat: Diet and foraging range

The documents do not identify prey taxa, feeding rates or the distance individuals travel while foraging.

No specific foraging range has been established in the supplied material, so habitat assessment should consider the intact forest floor around calling and breeding locations rather than isolated palms alone.

Recorded prey: Not reported.

Foraging distance: Not reported.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding occurs in the forest-floor and palm-leaf litter of high-elevation cloud forest. Males call from elevated palm positions, while eggs are placed in leaf litter and develop directly into froglets.

Breeding season: Generally October to March.

Mating system: Males call from elevated positions in small palms to attract females.

Clutch size: Not reported.

Egg location: In leaf litter on Linospadix apetiolatus palm leaves or on the ground.

Incubation period: Not reported.

Development: Froglets develop within the eggs.

Age at maturity: Not reported.

Lifespan: Not reported.

Breeding habitat: Breeding-site features

Breeding sites contain intact leaf litter, small palms and associated tree seedlings within dense cloud forest.

Pig disturbance can remove the leaf litter, expose bare soil and damage the palms used for calling and egg placement.

Calling activity is monitored with audio recorders, and habitat assessments measure leaf-litter density, seedling density and recovery of Linospadix apetiolatus palms.

  • Schedule intrusive work away from October to March where practicable, because this is the general breeding season.
  • Before work, inspect suitable leaf litter and palm habitat for calling males and egg clusters.
  • Use the smallest practical work footprint and prevent disturbance of breeding patches.
  • Include leaf-litter density, seedling condition and Linospadix apetiolatus condition in habitat checks.

Sheltering habitat: Known cover

Specific daytime refuges and shelter dimensions have not been described in the supplied documents. The species is closely associated with moist leaf litter and small palms in dense cloud forest.

Leaf litter provides cover as well as breeding and feeding habitat.

Small Linospadix apetiolatus palms provide elevated calling positions and may support eggs on their leaves.

The supplied documents do not report use of hollows, burrows, logs, rocks or other measured refuges.

  • Keep leaf litter in place during site access and inspection.
  • Do not remove palm fronds or clear the ground around small palms unless authorised under the relevant fauna management procedure.
  • Treat damp, intact ground cover within dense cloud forest as potential refuge habitat even when frogs are not visible.

Sheltering habitat: Refuge information gaps

The supplied documents do not provide refuge dimensions, shelter depth, daily movement distances or overwintering behaviour.

Where a project overlaps suitable habitat, retain undisturbed cover and seek species-specific advice before handling frogs, eggs or leaf litter.

  • Record the type and condition of cover at every detection.
  • Photograph suspected egg sites in place and avoid turning over leaf litter unnecessarily.
  • Use audio monitoring where visual searches are unlikely to detect calling males.

Threats: Feral pigs and ground disturbance

The species has an extremely small range and is exposed to threats that affect high-elevation cloud forest. Feral pigs and climate change are the main threats identified specifically for Mt Lewis, while the broader Australian frog assessment identifies chytridiomycosis, habitat loss and invasive species as major threats across threatened frogs.

Feral pigs dig through breeding sites, remove leaf litter, expose bare soil and damage Linospadix apetiolatus roots and seedlings.

This removes both breeding and feeding zones and may also affect water quality in the wider Wet Tropics headwaters.

Fresh pig tracks have been recorded at several breeding sites.

  • Record pig tracks, rooting and damaged palms during pre-clearance and habitat inspections.
  • Prevent construction access and spoil placement in intact leaf-litter habitat.
  • Use approved pig exclusion or control measures where they form part of the project or recovery program.

Threats: Climate change

The species is restricted to a single mountain-top area and appears to be retreating upslope as conditions change.

The loss of calling activity at 1,100 metres between 2003 and 2023, together with recent detections at 1,200 metres and above, indicates increasing pressure on the lower part of its range.

Because the summit is only just over 1,300 metres, there is limited higher ground available.

  • Avoid removing vegetation that helps maintain cool, moist cloud-forest conditions.
  • Avoid drainage changes, exposed edges and unnecessary canopy opening near suitable habitat.
  • Treat small high-elevation habitat patches as connected functional habitat rather than isolated work areas.

Threats: Disease

Chytridiomycosis is a major cause of decline and extinction among Australian frogs and is especially significant for cool, moist montane frogs.

The supplied documents do not establish the current disease status of the mountain-top nursery frog specifically.

Frog handling, equipment movement and contact with wet substrates should therefore follow approved amphibian hygiene procedures.

  • Use clean, disinfected equipment between sites and follow the project disease-control protocol.
  • Minimise handling and use separate clean equipment where disease risk or site separation requires it.
  • Report sick, dead or unusually inactive frogs through the project fauna and threatened-species reporting pathway.

Threats: Clearing, fragmentation and infrastructure

The species depends on small patches of high-elevation cloud forest with intact leaf litter and palms. Clearing or construction can remove these features directly, even where the total disturbed area is small.

The supplied documents do not report roads or infrastructure as a measured species-specific threat, but road access and construction can increase ground disturbance, edge exposure and feral pig access.

Hydrology requirements have not been quantified, although the species is associated with cool, moist cloud forest and leaf litter.

  • Confirm whether works overlap Mt Lewis cloud forest, intact leaf litter or Linospadix apetiolatus palms before ground disturbance.
  • Keep access tracks, laydown areas, drainage works and spoil outside suspected breeding and feeding habitat.
  • Prevent sediment, altered runoff and concentrated drainage from entering intact forest-floor habitat.
  • Use seasonal programming to avoid the October to March breeding period where practicable.

Threats: Fire and other threats

The broader Australian assessment identifies changing fire regimes, habitat loss and invasive species as important threats to threatened frogs, but it does not provide a mountain-top nursery frog-specific fire response or fire interval.

No species-specific information is supplied on predation, roads, fragmentation thresholds or direct mortality from machinery.

  • Do not infer that a site is unoccupied from the absence of visible frogs because males may be detected more reliably by call monitoring.
  • Refer proposed fire, vegetation removal or drainage changes to the project ecologist and relevant Queensland threatened-species managers.
  • Retain records of call detections, habitat condition, pig disturbance and any disease observations to support cumulative impact assessment.

Survey methodology: 1. Habitat assessment and targeted searches

Survey the Mountain-top Nursery Frog in high-altitude cloud forest on Mt Lewis, particularly where works may disturb deep leaf litter, small palms or other moist summit-ridge habitat. The supplied sources do not provide a formal survey guideline or minimum effort, so the project ecologist must set effort under the approval conditions and current Queensland guidance.

Map high-altitude cloud forest, summit ridges, moist drainage lines, deep leaf litter and patches of Linospadix apetiolatus palms before selecting survey points.

Search leaf litter and palm bases carefully for eggs, froglets and adults, without turning or removing habitat unless this is authorised under the project fauna management plan.

Treat sites above 1,100 metres as a priority because calls were detected at 1,100 metres in 2003 and at 1,200 metres and above in 2023.

Adult size: Approximately 2 centimetres or smaller

Known location: High-altitude cloud forests and mountain-top ridges in the Mt Lewis area near Julatten, north of Cairns

Breeding habitat: Leaf litter on palm leaves or on the ground, including around Linospadix apetiolatus palms

  • Record leaf-litter depth and continuity, palm presence and condition, soil disturbance, feral pig tracks, bare ground and nearby retained habitat at each search location.
  • Do not assume that a site is unoccupied because frogs are not seen during a daytime inspection.

Survey methodology: 2. Nocturnal call surveys

Conduct targeted nocturnal listening during the breeding period, generally from October or November to March, when calling males are expected to be detectable.

Use fixed listening points or transects through suitable cloud-forest habitat and record weather, start and finish times, observer position, altitude, habitat condition and all frog calls heard.

Use independent survey points where practicable, because the Mt Lewis project placed plots about 60 metres apart so calls from one plot should not be heard at another.

Breeding period: Generally October or November to March

Reference survey spacing: About 60 metres between fenced and control plots in the Mt Lewis monitoring project

Call pattern: Males call from elevated positions in small palms

  • Record the location and direction of each call and retain an audio file where possible.
  • Repeat surveys across suitable nights within the breeding period because calling activity can vary with weather and conditions.
  • Record both detections and non-detections, including the reason a survey was limited or cancelled.

Survey methodology: 3. Automated acoustic monitoring

Deploy automated audio recorders at selected breeding sites where a project requires repeated or longer-term detection effort and the equipment can be installed without damaging leaf litter or palms.

Programme and service recorders to cover the approved survey window, including the October or November to March breeding period where possible.

Pair acoustic data with habitat assessments so that changes in calling activity can be interpreted alongside leaf-litter density, palm recovery and feral-pig disturbance.

Documented monitoring approach: Audio recorders at each site, combined with regular habitat assessments

Habitat measures used in the Mt Lewis project: Seedling density, leaf-litter density, Linospadix apetiolatus palm recovery and pig disturbance

  • Calibrate the deployment map and label every recorder with its location, elevation, deployment dates and servicing history.
  • Review recordings for the species' call and have uncertain identifications checked by a suitably experienced amphibian ecologist.
  • Use call activity as an index of presence and activity, not as a direct count of frogs.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

The supplied documents do not specify a minimum number of survey nights, hours, transect length, recorder nights or search area for project approvals.

The project ecologist must document the selected effort, its basis, weather and access limitations, and whether surveys covered the full area of suitable habitat and the breeding period.

  • Obtain the current Queensland threatened species survey and approval requirements before fieldwork and apply any higher effort or method specified by the approval authority.
  • Submit confirmed records, survey locations, dates, observers, photographs or sound files and non-detections to the relevant Queensland wildlife database and any project approval reporting system.
  • Report any call, frog, egg, froglet or occupied breeding site immediately to the project environmental officer and the approval holder.
  • Keep the raw acoustic files, field sheets, habitat photographs, GPS data and chain of custody for fauna records.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Plan works around the frog's very small range and specialised breeding habitat. The main pre-clearance objective is to avoid disturbing high-altitude cloud forest, leaf litter and small palms wherever practicable.

Avoid clearing or construction in high-altitude cloud forest and mountain-top ridge habitat near Mt Lewis, especially above 1,100 metres and in areas with deep leaf litter or Linospadix apetiolatus palms.

Retain continuous leaf litter, palm clumps, seedlings, moist ground and links to nearby retained cloud forest.

Avoid creating bare soil or fragmenting small patches of breeding and feeding habitat.

  • Design the works footprint around occupied or suitable breeding sites rather than treating the sites as interchangeable patches.
  • Keep plant, vehicle and storage areas out of retained leaf litter and palm habitat.
  • Control feral pigs before works where the project can lawfully do so, because pig digging removes leaf litter, damages palms and creates bare soil.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and timing

Check whether the proposed action may have a significant impact on this nationally listed Critically Endangered species and obtain environmental advice on an EPBC Act referral before works commence.

Confirm Queensland approvals, threatened species permits, protected wildlife requirements and conditions that apply to survey, handling, relocation and clearing.

Schedule avoidable disturbance outside the October or November to March breeding period where the approval authority accepts that approach.

National status: Critically Endangered under the EPBC Act

Queensland status: Critically Endangered

Breeding period: Generally October or November to March

  • Do not capture, handle, move or release a frog unless the person and activity are authorised under the relevant approval or permit.
  • Include this species in the fauna management plan, species risk assessment, incident procedure and stop-work process.
  • Treat a suspected record as a matter for the project ecologist until identification and approval requirements are confirmed.

Before habitat disturbance: Site preparation

Complete the approved pre-clearance survey immediately before works, using targeted nocturnal call surveys and habitat inspection in suitable cloud forest.

Mark no-go areas, retained leaf litter, palm habitat, occupied sites, access routes and equipment exclusion zones on plans and in the field.

Install exclusion fencing only where it can protect retained habitat and will not damage leaf litter, palms or other habitat, and inspect it before and during works.

  • Brief all workers and machinery operators on the species' thumbnail size, call, breeding habitat and the marked exclusion areas.
  • Use the smallest practical access footprint and keep sediment, fuel, wash-down water and spoil away from retained cloud forest.
  • Confirm that a suitably authorised fauna spotter catcher is available for all clearing or ground disturbance that may affect habitat.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery interface

Treat any work in suitable Mt Lewis cloud-forest habitat as a controlled fauna operation. The fauna spotter catcher must have authority to pause machinery and must work in direct communication with the operator and environmental officer.

Inspect exclusion fencing, no-go markers, access routes and retained habitat before each shift.

Hold a daily pre-start briefing covering the approved footprint, current weather, frog observations, stop-work triggers and the communication method between the spotter catcher and machinery operator.

Keep machinery at the approved speed and position, and use a staged, spotter-led approach so the fauna spotter catcher can inspect the next work area before disturbance.

  • Stop machinery immediately when the fauna spotter catcher gives the agreed stop signal or when a frog, egg cluster, froglet or suspected breeding site is found.
  • Do not drive, park, turn machinery or stockpile materials on retained leaf litter or around Linospadix apetiolatus palms.
  • Prevent soil, sediment, fuel, concrete wash water, weeds and rubbish from entering retained moist habitat.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat and animal handling

Avoid disturbing leaf litter, palm leaves, seedlings and moist ground outside the approved footprint because these features provide breeding and feeding habitat.

Do not lift or move logs, rocks, leaf litter or palm material unless the action is approved, necessary and supervised by the fauna spotter catcher.

If a frog is found, stop work, protect the immediate habitat and have the authorised fauna handler identify and assess it before any movement.

Species size: Adults are approximately 2 centimetres or smaller

Breeding substrate: Leaf litter on palm leaves or on the ground

Male calling position: Elevated spots in small palms

  • Do not handle the frog unless handling is authorised and necessary for welfare, identification or approved relocation.
  • If relocation is authorised, move the frog only to nearby retained, suitable cloud-forest habitat selected by the project ecologist, and record the release location.
  • Do not relocate eggs or froglets without specific approval and direction from the project ecologist or wildlife authority.
  • Send an injured frog to an authorised wildlife carer or veterinarian through the project fauna procedure, and record the transfer.

During habitat disturbance: Stop-work triggers and records

Stop work in the affected area if a Mountain-top Nursery Frog, eggs, froglets, an active calling site or an unapproved habitat disturbance is detected.

Maintain the stop until the project ecologist confirms the species status, the habitat risk, the required buffer or exclusion area and the approval pathway.

Record all detections, attempted detections, handling, relocations, injuries, mortalities, habitat damage and corrective actions before work resumes.

  • Photograph the animal and habitat from a safe distance where this will not cause additional disturbance.
  • Record GPS coordinates, date, time, observer, weather, activity, machinery involved, habitat features, action taken and the name of the authorised decision-maker.
  • Report significant impacts, mortality or breaches of approval conditions to the environmental officer and relevant regulator within the timeframe set by the approval.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance inspection

Close out each work area with a habitat and compliance check. Monitoring should test whether retained or restored habitat remains suitable and whether pig disturbance or reduced frog calling is affecting the site.

Inspect the completed footprint and its edges for surviving frogs, eggs, froglets, damaged palms, exposed soil, removed leaf litter, sediment movement and breaches of exclusion areas.

Confirm that all temporary fencing, access controls and storage areas have been removed or retained as required by the fauna management plan.

Check that retained cloud forest remains connected to nearby suitable habitat and that drainage or erosion controls have not dried, buried or contaminated leaf-litter habitat.

  • Complete a final fauna spotter catcher sweep before demobilising from each work area where this is required by the approval.
  • Repair damaged exclusion fencing, drainage controls and retained habitat immediately.
  • Record the condition of each retained or restored site with photographs and GPS locations.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

Continue approved call monitoring and habitat assessments where the project may affect a breeding site or retained high-altitude habitat.

Compare calling activity with leaf-litter density, seedling density, palm recovery and evidence of feral-pig disturbance rather than relying on call records alone.

Use the project approval to set monitoring duration, frequency and reporting thresholds because the supplied sources do not specify post-construction effort.

Documented monitoring indicators: Calling activity, seedling density, leaf-litter density, Linospadix apetiolatus palm recovery and pig disturbance

  • Report confirmed records and monitoring results to the relevant Queensland wildlife database and the approval holder.
  • Notify the project environmental officer if calls disappear from an occupied site, pigs enter an exclusion area, leaf litter is lost or palm damage increases.
  • Retain raw recordings, habitat data, photographs and inspection records with the project environmental file.

After habitat disturbance: Controls and offsets

Maintain access restrictions, pig exclusion measures, erosion controls and weed controls for the period required by the approval or fauna management plan.

Review whether residual impacts remain after avoidance, mitigation and rehabilitation, and refer any offset requirement to the approval holder and regulator.

Do not count an offset as a substitute for retaining occupied or suitable Mt Lewis habitat.

  • Escalate any unplanned habitat loss or species impact through the project's environmental incident system.
  • Update the fauna management plan if monitoring shows that the retained habitat is not recovering or that additional pest control is required.
  • Obtain written approval before changing monitoring, relocation or rehabilitation commitments.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore breeding habitat

Rehabilitation should recreate the moist, leaf-litter-rich structure used by this frog, not just replace cleared vegetation. Protect restored areas from feral pigs and other disturbance while leaf litter, seedlings and palms recover.

Retain and reinstate a continuous layer of suitable leaf litter across disturbed cloud-forest ground where this can be done without spreading weeds or pathogens.

Protect and re-establish Linospadix apetiolatus palms and associated seedlings where they formed part of the pre-disturbance habitat.

Use locally appropriate, disease and weed management procedures developed by the project ecologist and Queensland land manager before moving plant material or leaf litter between sites.

Key habitat features: Deep leaf litter, small Linospadix apetiolatus palms, seedlings and moist high-altitude cloud forest

Known threat to address: Feral pigs dig up leaf litter, seedlings and palm roots and leave bare soil

  • Do not import fill, mulch or organic material that could smother leaf litter, alter moisture conditions or introduce weeds or pathogens.
  • Stabilise exposed soil and restore natural drainage without channelising or drying moist habitat.
  • Keep machinery and maintenance access out of the restored area.

Rehabilitation actions: Protect and monitor recovery

Install pig-exclusion fencing around restored breeding habitat where it is suitable, approved and safe for other fauna.

Monitor leaf-litter density, seedling density, palm recovery, bare soil, pig tracks and calling activity at restored and reference sites.

Use the documented Mt Lewis comparison design as a guide for separating treatment and reference observations, noting that the project used 10 fenced sites and 10 unfenced control plots about 60 metres apart.

Documented Mt Lewis rehabilitation monitoring: Ten pig-exclosure sites and ten unfenced control plots, approximately 60 metres apart

Breeding period for monitoring: Generally October or November to March

  • Inspect fencing after storms and at intervals set by the fauna management plan.
  • Remove weeds before they replace native ground cover or interfere with leaf-litter recovery.
  • Use nocturnal call monitoring during October or November to March and automated recorders where approved and appropriate.
  • Define success as retained or increasing suitable leaf litter and palm habitat, no ongoing pig disturbance, and stable or increasing confirmed frog calling activity, with targets set in the approval or rehabilitation plan.

Rehabilitation actions: Longer-term conservation actions

Coordinate rehabilitation with Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, Western Yalanji Traditional Owners, Gulf Savannah NRM and relevant researchers where the project is within the species' known range.

Share monitoring results so they can inform identification of wild population refuges and broader recovery work.

Include climate change, chytridiomycosis and feral-pig impacts in the site's longer-term risk review, because these threats may continue after construction ends.

Broader threats identified for the species or montane frogs: Climate change, chytridiomycosis and habitat damage from feral pigs

Known range pressure: Calls were detected at 1,100 metres in 2003 but only at 1,200 metres and above in 2023

  • Do not introduce frogs, eggs or genetic material as part of rehabilitation unless this is directed through an approved conservation program.
  • Escalate evidence of disease, unexplained frog deaths or sustained loss of calling activity to the relevant wildlife authority and amphibian disease specialists.
  • Review whether assisted refuge, captive management or other recovery actions are appropriate only through the species recovery and approval framework.

Sources