Rare Australian Frogs are Making a Comeback Due to Saunas and Spas

Frogs are semiaquatic amphibians whose habitats range from the tropics to the subarctic. While adult frogs typically live on land; they go back to water to spawn. There the tadpoles mature and the cycle of life begins anew.

But this peaceful scene was interrupted by the deadly chytrid  fungus that decimated 500 frog species around the world, reported ABC News. The green and golden bell frog was heavily impacted in Australia with numbers falling 90 percent since the 1970s. Now, a team of scientists have produced a unique solution to reintroduce the species by using “frog spas” and “frog saunas” to defeat the fungus.

Coming Up With a Solution
Since the pathogen is almost impossible to eradicate, according to associate professor Simon Clulow from the University of Canberra, the researchers had to think out-of-the-box for a solution. “We’ve had to come up with solutions to allow frogs to co-exist with the pathogen,” Clulow told ABC News.

The solution is to use a two-pronged approach using immunizations and by intervening in the frog’s habitat. It is low tech, accessible, and easily scalable.

But with the green and golden bell frogs almost completely extinct in the wild, the frogs for this trial (the study is ongoing) were bred in captivity in Sydney and Newcastle and treated with an immunization to the pathogen that works similar to human vaccines.

“That way you head-start the population which allows the first generation to live quite a number of years and produce lots of offspring,” Dr Clulow said.

This would be the first attempt to reintroduce the frogs into the Australian Capital Territory ACT, where it had become extinct almost 50 years ago.

Spas and Saunas
The recent reintroduction by the University of Canberra and ANU, to a wetland site near Canberra was the first of 15 planned, reported The Guardian. Each frog is microchipped with help from volunteers, and they were given names like James Pond and Dua Leaper.

But immunizations are not enough. To give the frogs a real chance, the team dug 60 frog spas and 180 frog saunas. The frog saunas are actually perspex pyramids that cover black bricks and work like greenhouses. They did this with the hope of giving refuges to the frogs with temperatures that are lethal to the deadly fungi.

The spas – satellite ponds that are slightly salty – have been there for a year now, Dr Jarrod Sopniewski, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Canberra told the Guardian. “Even when the temperatures are barely reaching 10C here, we’re still [passively] getting into the high 20s on a sunny day,” he said.

The goal is to have 200 frogs at each site. Since each female could have up to 8,000 eggs, if the methods work, the population will quickly grow rapidly.

“It’s almost like letting your children go out into the world themselves,” Sopniewski said. “A bit daunting, but overwhelmingly exciting.”