A FrogWatch is any of several

citizen science The term citizen science (synonymous to terms like community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, participatory monitoring, or volunteer monitoring) is research conducted with participation from the general public, or am ...

programs in which laypeople monitor

amphibian Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

s. In a FrogWatch, people make recordings of

frogs A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough skin texture due to ...

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 (AAZPA), is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1924 and dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aqu ...

runs FrogWatch USA, Nature Canada runs FrogWatch Canada, the India Biodiversity Portal runs the FrogWatch in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and other organizations run FrogWatches in other countries. The

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, natural sc ...

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. In 2006, the

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

assessed the utility of FrogWatch USA for the

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on March ...

and published its findings. It recommended continued funding based on "scientific value alone," though it also acknowledged its value as an educational tool and its ability to render research more cost-efficient. 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), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

started FrogWatch USA in 1998, but the

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 country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. 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 animal, terrestrial true toad native to South America, South and mainland Central America, but which has been Introduced spe ...

s came to Australia and became a problematic

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

References

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
Citizen science Amphibians