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Southern Bell Frog (Ranoidea raniformis)

The southern bell frog is a large, ground-dwelling amphibian associated with permanent or seasonal wetlands, slow-flowing water, floodplains, farm dams, irrigation channels and other vegetated waterbodies. It is listed as Vulnerable under the EPBC Act in Australia, and clearing, altered hydrology, habitat fragmentation, disease, pollutants and introduced fish can affect breeding and movement on development sites.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Vulnerable.

Breeding season

Southern bell frogs breed in shallow or still water during the warmer months, mainly from spring to summer. Clearing risk is highest around breeding wetlands from late winter through summer, but long larval development means tadpoles and young frogs may remain present well beyond the main breeding period.

Reproductive mode: Oviparous. Females lay eggs in a gelatinous mass or mat in water.

Clutch size: Several thousand eggs. An average of approximately 3400 eggs has been recorded, and three to ten thousand eggs has also been reported.

Incubation or gestation: Eggs hatch after approximately 2 to 5 days.

Size at hatching or birth: Newly hatched tadpoles are approximately 5 to 6 mm long, with about half of that length being the tail.

Age at maturity: Males may mature at approximately 9 to 12 months and 50 to 55 mm snout to vent length. Females generally mature at approximately 2 years and 65 mm or more snout to vent length.

Nest or egg sites: Eggs are laid in shallow or still water in ponds, lagoons, swamps, dams, creek pools, slow-flowing streams, floodplain wetlands, irrigation areas and recently inundated depressions. The gelatinous egg mass may float initially and usually sinks after approximately 6 to 12 hours.

Breeding frequency: Not recorded.

Confirm timing locally before works by checking recent rainfall, temperature, flooding, water retention and calling activity, because these conditions can trigger breeding and movement outside the typical seasonal pattern.

  • Calling: Males commonly call from September to February in the warmer months. Calling is recorded as possible in March and April and again in July, with calls recorded through August to February; September to December are reported as peak calling months. Timing may extend or contract with local temperature, rainfall and water levels.
  • Egg laying: Egg laying occurs during spring and summer, with breeding reported from September to February and from mid spring to mid summer in south-western New South Wales. Females lay several thousand eggs in a gelatinous mass in shallow or still water, including ponds, swamps, dams and creek pools.
  • Tadpoles: Eggs hatch after approximately 2 to 5 days. Tadpoles commonly develop for about 10 to 12 weeks, but development may take 12 to 15 months, so tadpoles can be present in water in any month where wetlands retain water.
  • Metamorphs: Metamorphosis commonly follows about 10 to 12 weeks of larval development, but the larval period in Australian populations can extend from 2 to 15 months. Metamorphs are approximately 25 to 35 mm snout to vent length, so they may leave the water in any month after a prolonged larval period, with numbers generally expected after spring and summer breeding.
  • Active period: Adults are active by day and night, and may bask or move around wetland edges and across nearby terrestrial habitat. Activity is greatest in warm conditions and after rain, generally from late winter through autumn in southern Australia, although winter activity can occur during warm or wet periods.
  • Winter inactivity: During winter, frogs may enter torpor and shelter beneath thick reeds, dense vegetation, logs, rocks, leaf litter, ground debris and cracking soils. They may resume activity during warm weather or after rain, so sheltering frogs can still be encountered outside the main winter period.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is highest from spring through summer, particularly September to February, when calling males, eggs, tadpoles and metamorphs may be concentrated around breeding wetlands. Tadpoles can persist for 2 to 15 months, and adults may shelter in terrestrial cover during winter, so draining, dewatering and clearing can cause harm in all seasons.

Identification

The southern bell frog is a large frog with a warty green to olive-brown back, irregular bronze or brown markings, a pale green mid-dorsal stripe and bright blue or turquoise colouring in the groin and backs of the thighs. It is most reliably identified using several features together, including size, skin texture, colour pattern, call and habitat.

Adults have a variable dorsal colour, from dull olive to bright emerald green, with irregular dark brown, golden or bronze blotches. The back and sides are warty, the belly is creamy white to off-white, and the toes are webbed without enlarged toe pads. A pale green stripe usually runs along the middle of the back.

The groin and backs of the thighs are usually bright blue or turquoise. A pale cream to brownish cream stripe extends from the eye towards the groin and may break up along the body.

Male size: Up to about 65 mm snout to vent length.

Female size: At least 100 mm snout to vent length.

Weight: Up to 50 grams.

Tadpole size: Newly hatched tadpoles are about 5 to 6 mm long. Late-stage tadpoles may reach about 110 to 150 mm total length, depending on the source and population.

Identification: Similar species and sexes

The main field comparison is the green and golden bell frog, Ranoidea aurea. The southern bell frog usually has warty rather than smooth skin and a thin pale green stripe along the back. Its brown or bronze patterning is often darker and more extensive.

Males are smaller than females. During the breeding season, males may develop dark nuptial pads on the thumbs, a darkly mottled throat and a grey to yellowish-brown throat tinge. Females generally have a throat similar in colour to the rest of the pale underside.

  • Check skin texture, the pale mid-dorsal stripe, bright blue or turquoise thigh and groin colouring, toe webbing and body size together.
  • Do not rely on colour alone, because dorsal colour and pattern vary between individuals and sites.

Identification: Field signs and survey cues

The advertisement call is a deep, growling three to four syllable croak. Australian descriptions include a repeated growling or ‘crawark’ call, sometimes followed by a rapid series of pulses. Males commonly call from shallow water, emergent vegetation or debris.

Tadpoles resemble small, rounded fish. Newly hatched tadpoles are dark olive to black, while later stages become greenish with a translucent, yellowish-tinted fin. Tadpoles may aggregate in schools in breeding ponds.

Adults may be seen basking in direct sunlight beside water and jumping into the water when disturbed. Eggs occur in large gelatinous masses that sink after about 6 to 12 hours.

  • Listen for calling males around vegetated ponds, swamps, floodplain wetlands, slow streams, irrigation areas and recently inundated sites.
  • Search shallow water, emergent vegetation, fringing vegetation, reeds, rushes, lignum and ground debris for adults, eggs and tadpoles.
  • Treat frog calls, egg masses and tadpoles as important detection evidence even when adults are not found.

Distribution: National range

In Australia, the southern bell frog occurs in south-eastern Australia and Tasmania, with records from New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory. Its Australian distribution has contracted substantially, leaving fragmented and disjunct populations, while introduced populations are widespread in New Zealand.

In New South Wales, the species formerly extended from the southern tablelands and western slopes through the Murrumbidgee and Murray catchments. Current records are concentrated around south-western riverine and irrigation areas, including the Lowbidgee, Coleambally and Lake Victoria districts, although survey coverage is incomplete.

In Victoria, it occurs mainly in lowland areas, including coastal and major watercourse areas, the northern plains and the Merri Creek catchment north of Melbourne. It is absent from or has declined in parts of the semi-arid north-west, far eastern Gippsland and higher eastern highlands.

In South Australia, records include the south-east, the Murray River and Lower Lakes region, the Mount Lofty Ranges and Adelaide Plains. Some Adelaide Plains and Mount Lofty populations were considered feral and may have disappeared.

In Tasmania, records are concentrated in the eastern half of the state, with additional records from Flinders Island and King Island. The species also occurred in the Australian Capital Territory but has disappeared from that jurisdiction according to the recovery plan.

  • Relevant Australian regions include the Murray-Darling riverine and floodplain systems, south-western New South Wales irrigation areas, Victorian lowlands and major catchments, the Lower Lakes and Murray River in South Australia, and eastern Tasmania.
  • The species may occur outside known strongholds where suitable wetlands and movement connections remain, so absence from a single survey site does not demonstrate absence from the surrounding area.

Distribution: Strongholds and population pattern

Important or intensively studied populations include the Merri Creek metapopulation north of Melbourne and populations in the Lowbidgee and Coleambally areas of New South Wales. In south-western New South Wales, the species can be locally common in irrigation areas or after large floods.

Many populations in southern and eastern parts of the range appear to function as metapopulations, with movement between nearby waterbodies and between breeding and non-breeding habitat. Riverine populations in the north and west may concentrate in refuges before flooding and disperse during flooding and breeding events.

The species was formerly widespread and common across much of south-eastern Australia, but has undergone marked declines since about the late 1970s or 1980s. It has disappeared from substantial parts of its former range, and no extant population should be assumed to be secure.

Known Australian states and territory: New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.

Population trend: Substantial decline in range and abundance, with fragmented and disjunct populations.

Local abundance: The species can be locally common in some south-western New South Wales irrigation areas and after large floods.

Habitat: Waterbody and vegetation types

Southern bell frogs are semi-aquatic and usually remain associated with water, but adults may travel well beyond the waterbody. Suitable habitat includes a waterbody for breeding, dense aquatic or fringing vegetation, terrestrial cover for shelter and foraging, and connected habitat between wetlands.

The species occurs around permanent and seasonal wetlands, ponds, lagoons, slow-flowing streams, rivers, swamps, floodplains, billabongs, farm dams, irrigation channels, irrigated rice crops, flooded paddocks, quarries and urban or roadside waterbodies.

Recorded vegetation communities include river red gum, lignum and Typha swamps, black box and lignum systems, low sedgelands, inundated grasses, rushes, club-rush, submerged aquatic plants, floating filamentous algae and fringing pasture.

Sites often contain still or slow-flowing water with substantial emergent, submerged, floating or waterside vegetation. Lower Lakes sites used for calling included shallowly inundated lignum, low reeds and grasses, rushes, sedges and floating algae.

  • Retain shallow wetland margins, emergent and fringing vegetation, submerged plants, floating cover and nearby terrestrial vegetation.
  • Assess farm dams, irrigation channels, quarries, stormwater wetlands, roadside drains and floodplain depressions as potential habitat, not only natural wetlands.
  • Consider both the waterbody and surrounding non-breeding habitat when defining the area that may be affected by works.

Habitat: Hydrology and climate

Southern bell frogs require water to persist and generally need permanent water, or waterbodies close to permanent water, where the larval period is long. Some northern and western populations breed in ephemeral wetlands after flooding, with larval development sometimes completed in about two months.

The species is associated mainly with lowland and temperate south-eastern Australia, but also occurs in small subalpine lakes and higher parts of its range. The documents do not provide a single elevation limit.

In the Lower Lakes, frogs responded to re-inundation and were detected in recently inundated, vegetated and sheltered areas. Successful recruitment depended on water remaining long enough for tadpoles to complete development.

  • Map nearby wetlands, drainage lines, floodplain depressions and temporary inundation areas, including sites that are dry during the survey period.
  • Identify whether proposed works could alter flooding, water retention, groundwater connection, salinity, water temperature or the duration of inundation.
  • Include nearby terrestrial habitat and movement routes in habitat assessments because adults may occur up to 400 metres from water.

Foraging habitat: Diet and feeding sites

Southern bell frogs are sit-and-wait predators that feed mainly around wetlands and nearby ground vegetation. Their diet changes with body size, and includes invertebrates, other frogs and small reptiles.

Adults eat mosquito larvae, beetles, slugs, earthworms, freshwater invertebrates, small crayfish, native and introduced frogs, geckos and skinks. Larger frogs take larger prey and may cannibalise other southern bell frogs.

Tadpoles feed on algae, detritus and bacteria. Larger tadpoles may take small freshwater invertebrates and other tadpoles, particularly when breeding ponds are crowded.

Adults forage at night but may also be active during the day. They use wetland edges, reeds, debris, grassland, pasture, woodland, heathland, forest, duneland and other cover near water.

  • Retain wetland edge vegetation, leaf litter, logs, rocks, grass, reeds, rushes and other ground cover that supports invertebrate prey.
  • Inspect both the water margin and adjacent terrestrial habitat during habitat assessments because adults may feed away from the waterbody.
  • Avoid assuming that a dry area has no value if it is within movement distance of a suitable wetland.

Foraging habitat: Foraging range

Adults have been found up to 400 metres from water and may move up to 3 kilometres between suitable habitats. The documents do not provide a separate measured foraging range, so these movement distances are the most useful available guide when assessing adjoining habitat.

  • Check terrestrial habitat within at least 400 metres of suitable waterbodies for sheltering and foraging frogs.
  • Assess movement connections between wetlands across the wider project area, especially where works could isolate breeding sites.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding occurs in permanent or seasonal water with shallow areas, emergent or submerged vegetation and sufficient water retention for tadpoles to metamorphose. Breeding response is strongly linked to spring and summer conditions, flooding in some riverine populations, and recent wetland inundation.

Males congregate and call from water, emergent vegetation or floating and submerged cover. Amplexus may last from about 10 minutes to 5 days. Eggs are laid in gelatinous masses, which may sink after 6 to 12 hours.

Tadpoles hatch after about 2 to 5 days. The larval period is usually about 10 to 12 weeks in New Zealand, but Australian populations may take 2 to 15 months to metamorphose. Metamorphs are about 25 to 35 mm snout to vent length.

Males may mature at about 9 to 12 months and 50 to 55 mm snout to vent length. Females generally mature at about 2 years and at 65 mm or more snout to vent length.

Breeding season: Generally spring to summer. In New Zealand, September to February. An Australian south-western NSW guide gives mid spring to mid summer.

Eggs: Several thousand eggs may be laid in a large gelatinous mass. One Lower Lakes source describes masses of up to 400 eggs.

Egg hatching: About 2 to 5 days after laying.

Tadpole period: About 10 to 12 weeks in many conditions, but 2 to 15 months has been recorded across Australian populations.

Male maturity: About 9 to 12 months old, at 50 to 55 mm snout to vent length.

Female maturity: About 2 years old, at 65 mm or more snout to vent length.

Lifespan: Up to 15 years in captivity. Wild lifespan is not known.

Breeding habitat: Breeding site features

Breeding sites include ponds, lagoons, swamps, floodplain wetlands, slow-flowing streams, farm dams, irrigation areas, rice crops, quarries and recently flooded terrestrial depressions. Preferred sites commonly have still or slow-flowing water and dense emergent, submerged, floating or fringing vegetation.

Successful recruitment requires water to remain available through larval development. In riverine areas, spring or summer flooding can trigger breeding and connect temporary waterbodies. In other areas, permanent water or nearby permanent refuge waterbodies support populations through the long larval period.

Introduced fish, particularly eastern gambusia and carp, may prey on eggs or tadpoles. High salinity can also cause larval failure, and prolonged salinity above about 7.0 mS/cm is associated with rapid population decline in the recovery plan.

  • Retain shallow inundated margins with emergent and submerged vegetation during the breeding season.
  • Prevent disturbance, infilling, draining or rapid drawdown of breeding waterbodies while eggs and tadpoles may be present.
  • Maintain suitable water duration through metamorphosis and avoid introducing or spreading aquatic pollutants between wetlands.

Sheltering habitat: Refuges and ground cover

Adults shelter at ground level in dense vegetation and debris near water, and may also climb into vegetation. Non-breeding habitat can be some distance from water and is needed for survival during dry or cold periods.

Recorded refuges include thick reeds, dense vegetation, logs, rocks, leaf litter, other ground debris and cracking soils. In winter, frogs may shelter beneath thick beds of reeds on wetland margins and become torpid, with activity resuming during warm weather or after rain.

In parts of the range, frogs overwinter beneath thick vegetation, logs, rocks and ground debris at considerable distances from water. Adults are capable climbers and have been recorded up to 2 metres above the ground in vegetation.

Distance from water: Adults may occur up to 400 metres from water.

Height above ground: Individuals may occur up to 2 metres above ground in vegetation.

  • Retain dense ground cover, coarse woody debris, rocks, leaf litter, cracking soils, reeds, rushes, lignum and other vegetation near wetlands.
  • Inspect debris piles, vegetation bases, wetland margins, drainage banks and damp ground before clearing.
  • Treat non-breeding refuges and movement routes as habitat even when no open water is present.

Sheltering habitat: Shelter during dry periods

Riverine populations may contract into refuge areas during dry periods and expand across floodplains after large floods. Prolonged drying can remove aquatic plants, degrade wetland sediments and reduce the availability of shelter and movement habitat.

  • Survey refuge habitat around dry or partly dry wetlands, including nearby vegetation, debris and cracking soil.
  • Avoid removing shelter cover from wetland margins during dry periods on the assumption that frogs have left the site.

Threats: Habitat loss and fragmentation

The southern bell frog has declined across much of its Australian range. Development and infrastructure can affect the species by removing wetlands and terrestrial refuges, interrupting movement, changing water regimes, introducing pollutants and increasing mortality during clearing or construction.

Clearing, landfill, urban and industrial development, wetland drainage, agricultural conversion, altered irrigation and loss of riparian vegetation have removed or degraded breeding and non-breeding habitat. The recovery plan records the destruction of a population through landfill of a former quarry and identifies other quarry populations as being at risk from landfill.

Roads, fences, industrial areas, urban estates and other unsuitable land uses can interrupt movement between breeding waterbodies and between water and terrestrial refuges.

  • Avoid clearing wetlands, wetland margins, riparian vegetation, ground debris and terrestrial habitat connected to breeding sites.
  • Maintain movement connections between nearby waterbodies and between breeding sites and non-breeding refuges.
  • Plan fauna searches and salvage before clearing, earthworks, drainage works and landfill activities.

Threats: Hydrology and water quality

Drainage, river regulation, impoundments, altered flooding, reduced inflows, drought, irrigation diversion and rapid changes in water level can remove breeding opportunities or prevent tadpoles from completing development. In the Lower Lakes, populations declined where flooding was absent, habitat was disconnected and salinity increased.

The species is exposed to pollutants through its permeable skin. Herbicides, biocides and other chemicals can cause death, illness or abnormalities in amphibians, although the full effect on this species is not known.

  • Prevent sediment, concrete washout, fuels, herbicides, pesticides and other pollutants from entering breeding or refuge habitat.
  • Assess changes to flow, flooding, drainage, groundwater connection, salinity and the duration of inundation.
  • Retain water and vegetation conditions long enough for eggs and tadpoles to complete development.

Threats: Disease and predators

Chytridiomycosis, caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, infects amphibian skin and can cause high mortality. The disease is known to infect southern bell frogs, and has been reported to readily kill the species in New Zealand.

Introduced eastern gambusia, carp, goldfish, redfin perch, trout, salmon and weatherloach may prey on eggs or tadpoles, although the strength of the effect varies between sites. Foxes and cats may also prey on frogs.

High stocking levels and grazing can trample breeding margins, remove cover, compact wet soils, destroy soil cracks and pollute water.

  • Use approved hygiene procedures for amphibian surveys, handling, footwear, nets, traps, vehicles and equipment between wetlands.
  • Do not move water, sediment, aquatic plants, fish, frogs or equipment between sites without appropriate controls.
  • Assess introduced fish and livestock access where breeding success is poor or waterbodies are being restored.

Threats: Fire and direct disturbance

The documents identify wildfire as a stochastic threat whose effects are worsened when habitat is already fragmented or degraded. Clearing and machinery can directly kill frogs in vegetation, debris, wetland margins and ground refuges, particularly during the breeding season or winter shelter period.

Southern bell frogs bask beside water and may jump into water when disturbed. Their daytime activity means that visual searches can detect animals during some clearing operations, but nocturnal surveys and call surveys are also needed.

  • Stage clearing away from breeding and shelter periods where practicable, and use pre-clearance searches by qualified fauna personnel.
  • Inspect vegetation bases, logs, rocks, litter, cracks, wetland edges and machinery work areas before disturbance.
  • Stop work and protect the location if frogs, egg masses or tadpoles are found, then follow the project fauna management and relocation requirements.

Survey methodology: 1. Nocturnal call and spotlight surveys

Survey for Southern Bell Frogs before clearing or construction because adults may occur in or near wetlands, move between waterbodies and use terrestrial shelter away from breeding sites. Use the Australian Government frog survey guideline with the species-specific methods below, and obtain any required state survey approvals.

Survey during the warmer breeding period, generally September to February in New Zealand and mid spring to mid summer in south-west New South Wales. In Australia, adjust timing to local rainfall, flooding and temperature conditions.

Undertake nocturnal surveys around permanent and temporary wetlands, slow-flowing rivers, floodplains, dams, irrigation channels, quarries and connected terrestrial habitat.

Listen for the species' distinctive growling call, then use spotlighting and active searching along the water edge, through emergent vegetation and across adjacent ground cover.

Search after rain or inundation where practicable, because breeding activity and detection can increase after water levels rise.

Record survey start and finish times, weather, rainfall, temperature, wind, cloud cover, moon phase, water level, vegetation structure and observer effort.

Do not rely on calls alone. The species may bask and move during the day, but adults can remain concealed under vegetation, logs, rocks and other ground debris.

Typical adult size: 55 to 110 mm, with females reaching at least 100 mm

Breeding period in south-west NSW: Mid spring to mid summer

Breeding period reported for New Zealand: September to February

Movement relevant to site assessment: Individuals may occur up to 400 m from water and may move up to 3 km between suitable habitats

Survey methodology: 2. Call playback and active searching

Use call identification together with call playback, visual searching and habitat inspection. Call playback was used with active searching in monitoring of the species in the Lower Lakes.

Search sheltered, shallow, recently inundated areas with emergent, submerged or fringing vegetation, including Lignum, rushes, sedges, grasses and filamentous algae.

Inspect adjacent non-breeding habitat, including thick vegetation, logs, rocks, ground debris and cracking soils, particularly where the site connects two or more wetlands.

Record each observation or call with a location, time, estimated number, life stage, behaviour, photograph where practicable and the habitat being used.

Avoid excessive playback or repeated disturbance at the same wetland. Follow the Australian Government frog survey guideline for playback duration, spacing and stopping rules.

Survey methodology: 3. Tadpole and recruitment surveys

Survey suitable shallow margins and inundated vegetation for eggs, tadpoles and metamorphs when breeding habitat is holding water through spring and summer.

Use tadpole trapping or other approved aquatic survey methods in suitable breeding habitat, with equipment disinfected between wetlands to reduce disease transfer.

Sample areas with emergent and submerged vegetation, sheltered shallow water and recently inundated terrestrial vegetation.

Record water depth, waterbody condition, vegetation cover, salinity or electrical conductivity, pH, turbidity, fish presence and the number and developmental stage of tadpoles.

Maintain water long enough for tadpoles to metamorphose where works affect breeding habitat. The larval period may be about 2 months in some northern and western populations and up to 15 months in other parts of the range.

Tadpole size: Newly hatched tadpoles are about 5 to 6 mm; near metamorphosis they may reach up to 110 to 150 mm total length

Tadpole period: About 2 to 15 months, depending on population and conditions

Lower Lakes monitoring example: Tadpole surveys were undertaken at 17 of 36 sites

Survey methodology: 4. Habitat and aquatic condition assessment

Map the wetland, water edge, adjacent terrestrial shelter, movement routes and nearby waterbodies before selecting survey locations.

Assess wetland type, water permanence, flow, water level, submerged cover, emergent cover, fringing cover, surrounding vegetation, canopy, bank slope, land use and water quality.

Give particular attention to permanent or semi-permanent water with dense vegetation and nearby ground cover. The species may also use artificial waterbodies, farm dams, irrigation channels, flooded paddocks and disused quarries.

Check for introduced fish, especially Eastern Gambusia and carp, because fish may prey on eggs and tadpoles. Record salinity because prolonged high salinity can reduce breeding success.

Salinity information from the recovery plan: Numbers decline rapidly as salinity approaches 7.0 mS/cm, and the species generally does not occur where salinity exceeds that level for lengthy periods

Lower Lakes monitoring effort: Nocturnal surveys covered 36 sites, with three survey rounds used collectively to detect adults

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Apply the Australian Government survey guideline to determine the final number, spacing and duration of surveys for the project, habitat type and approval pathway.
  • Complete surveys in more than one suitable weather and water condition where the first survey may have had low detectability.
  • Survey both breeding water and connected terrestrial habitat, rather than treating the wetland edge as the full survey area.
  • Document negative results, including the area searched, nights, hours, observers, methods, weather, water levels and detection limitations.
  • Submit confirmed records, calls, photographs and location data to the relevant state or territory wildlife database and the project fauna database.
  • Report all threatened species observations and survey results to the approval authority and include them in the project's environmental records.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise habitat loss

Treat wetlands, water edges and connected terrestrial shelter as one habitat unit. Avoid removing breeding habitat, non-breeding refuge or movement routes where practicable, because the species depends on movement between waterbodies and may travel well away from water.

  • Retain permanent and temporary wetlands, shallow inundation zones, emergent and fringing vegetation, Lignum, rushes, sedges, grasses, logs, rocks and other ground debris.
  • Retain connections between breeding wetlands and nearby refuge habitat, because adults may move up to 3 km between suitable habitats and may occur up to 400 m from water.
  • Avoid filling, draining, isolating or substantially changing the water regime of breeding wetlands, farm dams, irrigation channels, floodplains and slow-flowing waterways.
  • Avoid works that increase salinity, sediment, chemical contamination or fish access to breeding water.
  • Do not assume a dry wetland is unused. The species can contract to refuge areas during dry periods and may recolonise after flooding.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and work planning

  • Check the current EPBC Act listing and determine whether the action may have a significant impact on the nationally vulnerable species, including whether an EPBC referral is required.
  • Check the relevant state or territory threatened species listing, permit requirements, clearing controls, wildlife handling authority and requirements for moving or possessing frogs.
  • Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies breeding habitat, non-breeding refuge, movement routes, exclusion zones, stop-work triggers, handling arrangements and reporting requirements.
  • Schedule clearing and waterbody disturbance outside the local breeding and tadpole period where practicable. Use local rainfall, flooding and water-level information rather than calendar dates alone.
  • Stage works so that retained wetlands and movement routes remain connected and occupied habitat is not isolated.

Before habitat disturbance: Pre-clearance preparation

  • Complete the approved pre-clearance survey immediately before disturbance, including nocturnal call and spotlight surveys and targeted searches of logs, rocks, vegetation and damp ground cover.
  • Mark retained wetlands, shallow inundation areas, dense emergent vegetation, Lignum, logs, rocks, cracking soils and movement corridors on site plans and on the ground.
  • Install exclusion fencing where it will keep machinery and people out of retained wetland or refuge habitat without blocking frog movement between retained habitat patches.
  • Brief all workers on the species' appearance, call, habitat, hygiene requirements, stop-work triggers and the authorised fauna spotter catcher.
  • Plan a nearby, connected release area before works start. It should contain suitable cover and water and should not require the frog to cross roads or active work areas.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery coordination

Use a controlled, staged approach. A fauna spotter catcher must be present for vegetation removal, ground disturbance and wetland works where the management plan identifies a reasonable chance of encountering the species.

  • Inspect exclusion fencing, wetland edges, refuge areas and access routes before work starts each day.
  • Keep machinery, stockpiles, vehicles, pumps and workers out of marked wetlands, shallow inundation zones and retained ground cover unless the approved method requires entry.
  • Have the fauna spotter catcher walk ahead of machinery and remain in a position where the operator can see and obey the stop signal.
  • Clear in short stages, checking each area before machinery advances and allowing the spotter catcher to inspect disturbed vegetation, logs, rocks and damp depressions.
  • Keep a clean, damp, secure container and clean equipment available for temporary frog containment, and follow the project's amphibian hygiene procedure between sites.

During habitat disturbance: Handling and relocation

  • Stop the relevant activity when a Southern Bell Frog is seen, heard close to the work area, trapped, injured or found in a location where it could be harmed.
  • Only an appropriately authorised person may capture, handle or relocate the frog. Do not allow untrained workers to pick it up or chase it.
  • Minimise handling, keep the frog cool and shaded, avoid contact with chemicals and do not place it in dry containers or with other frogs.
  • Relocate a healthy frog only under the approved fauna management plan and permit, to nearby retained habitat with suitable cover and water, and away from machinery, roads and active work areas.
  • Take injured frogs to an authorised wildlife carer or veterinarian as soon as practicable, following the project's wildlife incident procedure.
  • Record the exact capture location, time, condition, life stage, photographs where practicable, handling authority, release location and outcome.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat feature handling and stop-work triggers

  • Stop work and inspect whenever machinery exposes a wet depression, inundated vegetation, dense ground cover, log, rock pile, cracking soil or other potential refuge.
  • Do not remove logs, rocks, thick vegetation or ground debris from retained habitat unless the approved method specifically requires it and the spotter catcher has checked them.
  • Do not pump, drain, fill or isolate a wetland containing frogs, eggs or tadpoles without an approved aquatic fauna method and any required authorisation.
  • Stop work if frogs are found repeatedly, if tadpoles or eggs are detected, if water levels change unexpectedly, if exclusion fencing fails or if the spotter catcher cannot maintain visual control.
  • Escalate any discovery of a breeding aggregation, successful recruitment, mass mortality, disease symptoms or unexpected threatened species record to the environmental manager and approval authority.

After habitat disturbance: Completion checks

Treat completion as part of the fauna management action. Confirm that no frogs remain in the disturbed area, that retained habitat is functioning and that controls remain effective during the next wet and dry periods.

  • Undertake a final search of the work area, wetland margins, stockpiles, trenches, pits and temporary drainage features before demobilisation.
  • Remove or make safe temporary pits, trenches, pipes and other structures that could trap frogs.
  • Check that exclusion fencing, sediment controls and wetland protection measures remain intact and do not block movement between retained habitat patches.
  • Confirm that retained waterbodies have suitable water levels, emergent or fringing vegetation and nearby terrestrial cover.
  • Remove construction waste, excess spoil, contaminated soil and materials that could degrade breeding or refuge habitat.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

  • Monitor retained and rehabilitated wetlands using repeat nocturnal call and spotlight surveys during the next suitable breeding period.
  • Include tadpole or metamorph surveys where works affected breeding water or where adult calling indicates possible recruitment.
  • Compare adult detections, calling activity, tadpole presence, water levels, vegetation cover, salinity and fish presence with the pre-work baseline.
  • Report all captures, relocations, injuries, deaths, disease observations, breeding records, survey effort and non-compliances to the environmental manager and relevant regulator.
  • Maintain the site fauna register and submit verified records to the relevant state or territory wildlife database.

After habitat disturbance: Ongoing obligations and offsets

  • Maintain wetland water regimes, habitat connections, exclusion controls and weed or pest controls for the period specified in the approval or fauna management plan.
  • Review the management plan if monitoring shows reduced occupancy, failed recruitment, increasing salinity, fish impacts or loss of vegetation structure.
  • Implement any approved offset, conservation covenant, habitat protection or recovery action required under the EPBC Act or state approval.
  • Do not use an offset as a substitute for avoiding or minimising direct impacts to occupied or suitable breeding habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Wetland and vegetation restoration

Rehabilitation should recreate shallow, vegetated wetland margins and connected terrestrial shelter, not just a bare waterbody. Design the site for breeding, tadpole development, basking, feeding, overwintering and movement.

  • Reinstate permanent or seasonally inundated shallow margins with emergent, submerged and fringing vegetation suited to the local wetland.
  • Use locally appropriate rushes, sedges, grasses, Lignum and other native wetland plants recorded from nearby occupied habitat, rather than relying on dense reed or bulrush stands alone.
  • Provide sheltered shallow water and recently inundated vegetated areas for calling, egg laying and tadpole development.
  • Maintain water long enough for tadpoles to complete development, while allowing a variable water regime where this matches the local population and approval requirements.
  • Prevent erosion, sediment input, chemical contamination and salinity increases in breeding water.

Rehabilitation actions: Terrestrial refuge and connectivity

  • Retain or reinstate logs, rocks, thick ground vegetation, leaf litter and other debris near wetland margins for shelter and overwintering.
  • Keep connected movement routes between breeding wetlands, refuge areas and nearby waterbodies, and avoid new barriers such as fences, roads and unsuitable hardstand.
  • Do not install nest boxes for this ground-dwelling frog as a substitute for wetland-edge cover.
  • Use fauna underpasses or other approved movement structures where infrastructure severs a documented movement route, and monitor their use.

Rehabilitation actions: Weeds, fish, predators and fire

  • Control weeds where they reduce wetland structural diversity or cover suitable shallow breeding habitat, while retaining the native vegetation needed for shelter.
  • Assess and manage introduced fish, including Eastern Gambusia and carp, where they threaten eggs or tadpoles, using methods approved for the site and other aquatic fauna.
  • Manage cats and foxes where predation risk is identified, particularly at small or isolated populations.
  • Plan fire management to retain wetland-edge vegetation, logs, rocks and ground debris, and avoid burning occupied refuge or breeding habitat during the local breeding period.

Rehabilitation actions: Success measures

  • Set measurable targets for wetland hydroperiod, water quality, emergent and fringing vegetation cover, retained ground refuge, connectivity and weed or introduced fish control.
  • Use repeat nocturnal surveys to confirm adult presence and calling activity during suitable spring and summer conditions.
  • Confirm recruitment through records of eggs, tadpoles, metamorphs or juveniles, not adult presence alone.
  • Continue monitoring until the rehabilitated wetland supports suitable water, vegetation and refuge conditions across the required seasonal period and the approval's success criteria are met.

Sources