The Action Plan for Australian Frogs
By
Michael J. Tyler
with the assistance of the Editorial Advisory Committee
Wildlife Australia, April 1997
ISBN 0 642 21400 X
Recovery Outline No. 3: Armoured Frog
1. Family
Hylidae
2. Scientific Name
Litoria lorica
3. English Name
Armoured Frog, Armoured Mist Frog, Thornton Peak Tree Frog, Little Waterfall Frog
4. Intraspecific taxa:
None
5. Species survival status
Endangered. Considered rare because of its restricted distribution until 1990 (McDonald 1992, McDonald et al. 1991), but disappeared in 1991 and has not been seen since (Ingram and McDonald, 1993).
6. Former distribution
North east Queensland from Alexandra Creek (16°07'S, 145°20'E) and Hilda Creek in Daintree National Park (McDonald 1992).
7. Current distribution
Has not been located at its known sites of occurrence since 1991 (Ingram and McDonald 1993).
8. Habitat
On boulders at the edge of fast-flowing creeks in rainforest at altitudes of 640-1000m.
9. Reasons for decline
Unknown. Richards et al. (1993) reject drought, floods, habitat destruction or pollution by pesticides, inorganic ions or heavy metals.
10. Conservation reserves on which species occurs
Qld: Daintree National Park.
11. Other public lands on which species occurs
None known.
12. Other lands on which species occurs
None known.
13. Is knowledge about species adequate for objectives and actions to be defined accurately?
No. Nothing is known of the life history of this species, however it is expected that it would be similar to Litoria nannotis.
14. Recovery Plan objectives
14.1. To establish the continued existence of the species.
14.2. To determine the causal agent/s responsible for the decline.
14.3. To reduce or eliminate threatening processes.
14.4. To ensure that frog conservation is considered in all relevant land management decisions.
15. Management actions completed or under way
15.1. This species, along with seven other Wet Tropics species, is the subject of a recovery program for threatened frogs of Qld and northern NSW (Coordinator: K.R. McDonald, Qld Department of Environment). The program involves survey, monitoring, ecological research and research into potential causes of decline.
15.2. A draft recovery plan has been prepared (Martin and McDonald 1995).
16. Management actions required
Actions outlined in the draft Recovery Plan include:
16.1. Monitoring.
16.2. Research into causes of decline.
16.3. Ecological research.
16.4. Captive breeding.
16.5. Genetic studies.
16.6. Public information.
17. Organisations responsible for conservation of species
Qld Department of Environment.
18. Other organisations involved
James Cook University, Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management, Wet Tropics Management Authority, amateur frog clubs.
19. Can recovery be carried out with existing resources?
No.
Draft recovery plan for Wet Tropics frogs, including this species, includes: survey and monitoring component ($75K per annum); identification of cause of decline (total cost $249K); and captive breeding (total cost $504K). Total cost of implementation of the draft Recovery Plan is estimated at $1647K over 5 years (7 species).
Total (average cost per species) $235.3K
References:
Ingram, G.J. and McDonald, K.R. 1993. An update on the decline of Queensland's frogs. pp 297-303 in Herpetology in Australia: a diverse discipline. Eds D. Lunney and D. Ayers, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman.
Martin, W.E. and McDonald, K.R. 1995. Draft recovery plan for the stream-dwelling rainforest frogs of the Wet Tropics biogeographic region of north-east Queensland. Unpublished report to the Australian Nature Conservation Agency, Canberra.
McDonald, K.R. 1992. Distribution patterns and conservation status of north Queensland rainforest frogs. Conservation Technical Report No. 1., Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage, Brisbane.
McDonald, K.R., Covacevich, J.A., Ingram, G.J. and Couper, P.J. 1991. The status of frogs and reptiles. pp 338-345 in An atlas of Queensland's frogs, reptiles, birds and mammals. Eds G.J. Ingram and R.J. Raven, Queensland Museum Board of Trustees, Brisbane.
Richards, S.J., McDonald, K.R., Alford, R.A. 1993. Declines in populations of Australia's endemic tropical rainforest frogs. Pacific Conservation Biology 1: 66-77.
Herpetological authorities consulted
J.-M. Hero, K.R. McDonald.