to listen for calling male frogs Automated In the absence of Most Not labour Technical and Suitable for call an observer, uses a species intensive; equipment most wetland recording remote recording recordings constraints; frogs device, attached to can be made limited to area a timer, to record over several around calling frogs days and in recorder; different equipment conditions costs high Night Slowly driving along Large and areas Requires road Not suitable as driving quiet roads on small active can be to bisect there is nights when species surveyed in a suitable habitat. unlikely to be weather conditions short time; Driving speed roads bisecting are suitable for frog large and may affect the peat swamps activity and small species detection of recording frogs may be smaller species sitting on or moving detected with across the road visual and aural The car can be encounters stopped for a defined period at intervals along the road to listen for calls Pitfall Buried or Terrestrial May detect Not suitable for Likely to be trapping buckets are placed and fossorial cryptic tree frogs difficult to use along a drift fence (burrowing) species; can (some tree due to with variations in species detect active frogs can be underlying trap size, trap but captured if sandstone shape and drift frogs funnel traps are substrate. May fence length to added); be possible accommodate expensive and where peat has variation in size of labour-intensive depth between the target species installation; use 0.5 and 1 m or the type of may be limited Detection rates habitat to be by hard are very low surveyed (DEWHA substrates; when this 2011). Queensland effectiveness method is used EPA (2005) dependent on for the giant suggests that weather burrowing leaving the trap for conditions and 10 days is most season effective. Method one animal in determines 800–1000 trap presence/absence nights and does not estimate species abundance. Eyre et al. (2012) recommend a
to listen for calling male frogs Automated call recording In the absence of an observer, uses a remote recording device, attached to a timer, to record calling frogs Most species Not labour intensive; recordings can be made over several days and in different conditions Technical and equipment constraints; limited to area around recorder; equipment costs high Suitable for most wetland frogs Night driving Slowly driving along quiet roads on nights when weather conditions are suitable for frog activity and recording frogs sitting on or moving across the road The car can be stopped for a defined period at intervals along the road to listen for calls Large and small active species areas can be surveyed in a short time; large and small species may be detected with visual and aural encounters Requires road to bisect suitable habitat. Driving speed may affect the detection of smaller species Not suitable as there is unlikely to be roads bisecting peat swamps Pitfall trapping Buried or buckets are placed along a drift fence with variations in trap size, trap shape and drift fence length to accommodate variation in size of the target species or the type of habitat to be surveyed (DEWHA 2011). Queensland EPA (2005) suggests that leaving the trap for 10 days is most effective. Method determines presence/absence and does not estimate species abundance. Eyre et al. (2012) recommend a Terrestrial and fossorial (burrowing) species May detect cryptic species; can detect active but frogs Not suitable for tree frogs (some tree frogs can be captured if funnel traps are added); expensive and labour-intensive installation; use may be limited by hard substrates; effectiveness dependent on weather conditions and season Likely to be difficult to use due to underlying sandstone substrate. May be possible where peat has depth between 0.5 and 1 m Detection rates are very low when this method is used for the giant burrowing one animal in 800–1000 trap nights