A FrogWatch is any of several

citizen science Citizen science (CS) (similar to community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, participatory monitoring, or volunteer monitoring) is scientific research conducted with participation from the public (who are sometimes re ...

programs in which laypeople monitor

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

s. In a FrogWatch, people make recordings of

frogs A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

and other animals that live near them and send the recordings to databases for scientists and other people to hear and study. Not all FrogWatch programs are run by the same people. The

Association of Zoos and Aquariums The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), originally the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1924 and dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in ...

runs FrogWatch USA,

Nature Canada Nature Canada is a member-based environmental organization headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. Its supporters include more than 100,000 individuals and over 800 affiliated organizations, including local and provincial naturalist clubs. The organ ...

runs FrogWatch Canada, the

India Biodiversity Portal India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

runs the FrogWatch in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and other organizations run FrogWatches in other countries. The

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...

developed the program that FrogWatch USA volunteers use to add information and that FrogWatch uses to study it. Volunteers record temperature with thermometers and listen for sounds made by specific types of frogs and toads. FrogWatch USA volunteers record frog habitats for three and a half minutes, starting one half-hour (30 minutes) after the sun goes down. Scientists have used FrogWatch to study the way frogs and toads change the places they live, which types of frogs are becoming more numerous and which are becoming less numerous,

species diversity Species diversity is the number of different species that are represented in a given community (a dataset). The effective number of species refers to the number of equally abundant species needed to obtain the same mean proportional species abundan ...

, the way species react to changes in temperature, and the way they act during different parts of the year.

History

The

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

started FrogWatch USA in 1998, but the

National Wildlife Federation The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is the United States' largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization, with over six million members and supporters, and 51 state and territorial affiliated organizations (includin ...

took over in 2002. Between 1998 and 2005, 1,395 people working with FrogWatch USA visited 1,942 places where frogs live and gave information to FrogWatch. They found 79 different kinds of frogs and toads. This does not count visits, places, or species for FrogWatch Canada or FrogWatches in other countries. FrogWatch NT operates in northern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It began in 1991 after

cane toad The cane toad (''Rhinella marina''), also known as the giant neotropical toad or marine toad, is a large, terrestrial true toad native to South and mainland Central America, but which has been introduced to various islands throughout Oceania ...

s came to Australia and became a problematic

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

References

Citizen science Amphibians

External links

India Biodiversity PortalFrogWatch USA
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224060937/https://www.aza.org/frogwatch , date=2019-12-24
FrogWatch Canada