Coming Up...

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Nazia Akram and Clare Goodhill

University of Melbourne

"Chytrid double-header"

2nd July 2025
Elgin Inn Hawthorn

From 6:30 pm - Talk starts 7:30 pm

"Frogs vs Fungus: How slimy skin secrets could save amphibians from extinction"

What if the key to saving frogs from a global killer is hidden in their skin? Nazia's PhD dives into the microscopic battlefield between frogs and Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd)—the chytrid fungus responsible for catastrophic amphibian declines. Armed with skin-derived chemical weapons like antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and toxic alkaloids, some frogs can fight back. Nazia is using a frog cell line model (Xenopus laevis A6 cells) to track how Bd infects cells and how these natural skin secretions—and their synthetic versions—can block, weaken, or kill the fungus. By decoding these defenses, Nazia hopes to uncover new ways to protect vulnerable frog species before it’s too late.

Nazia Akram has a BS (Hons) in Zoology and is currently pursuing a PhD exploring how frog skin chemicals can fight the deadly chytrid fungus. Her research blends her passion for animals, conservation, and uncovering nature’s hidden defenses.

"Assessing the effects of fungal metabolites as a potential prophylaxis to a lethal amphibian fungus"

The novel fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), and the resulting disease chytridiomycosis, have decimated frog populations globally. Recent research has shown that non-infectious substances produced by Bd (termed ‘Bd metabolites’) may enhance the resilience of certain frog species against Bd infections. Clare explored the effectiveness of Bd metabolites and how this effectiveness varied across life stages in two Australian frog species, adult Kroombit Tinker Frogs (Taudactylus pleione) and post-metamorphic and larval Green Tree Frogs (Litoria caerulea). Although all tadpoles failed to develop a Bd infection following exposure to Bd metabolites or the control, metabolite-exposed L. caerulea tadpoles exhibited suppressed growth and lasting stunted development. L. caerulea metamorphs did develop Bd infections, but exposure to Bd metabolites neither affected growth nor increased their resilience to Bd. Unexpectedly, the critically endangered T. pleione did not develop a Bd infection. Overall, there were no clear benefits in exposing amphibians to Bd metabolites. Given the negative impact on tadpoles, Bd metabolites cannot be recommended as a Bd prophylactic. Clare's findings highlight the need for tailored approaches in managing Bd infections.

Clare completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Queensland in Science. In her third year she became fascinated with the chytrid fungus infecting frogs, and conducted her honours on it in the following year. Now she is studying a PhD at the University of Melbourne also in chytrid.

All are welcome in the audience -
no RSVP/registration necessary

Join us upstairs at The Elgin from 6:30 pm for dinner and drinks (available for purchase).

Talk starts at 7:30 pm at The Elgin Inn 75 Burwood Road, Hawthorn VIC 3122

Sincere thanks to our 2024 speakers:

Sam Wallace

Jessica Keem, Kevin Newman and David De Angelis

Jeff Hughes

Matt Clancy, Justine Holmes, Sue Bendel, Dan Guinto

John Gould

Ellen Cottingham and Stephen Frankenberg

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Happy Birthday Murray!

Mar 25, 2022

Since its inception, Frogs Victoria’s proudest talking point is that the most esteemed of amphibian biologists, Professor Murray Littlejohn, is our organisation’s patron. This honour immediately provided gravitas to a fledgling group whose existence is in no small part based on the remarkable and ongoing legacy of your career.

Murray, the aims and core values of Frogs Victoria are in near-perfect alignment with your most distinguished career. We too seek knowledge, understanding, collaboration, connection, and conservation. Our ability to achieve in these spheres has at its foundation the enormous body of knowledge built by you, and those you nurtured to great achievements with you and because of you.

Frogs Victoria thanks you for your patronage, wishes you the happiest of birthdays for your 90th and looks forward to a continuing connection with you.

Dr Renee Catullo, "How many species of toadlets (Uperoleia)?" November 2021

Nov 4, 2021

Dr Renee Catullo is a Lecturer at University of Western Australia, with over 10 years' experience working on northern Australian frogs. She did her PhD trying to understand the systematics of Uperoleia frogs, and that still forms part of her research to this day. More recently, her work as focused more broadly on the landscape genetics of threatened vertebrate species. Renee presents:

"How many species of toadlets (Uperoleia)?"

The little brown toadlets in the genus Uperoleia have long been a conundrum. How many species are there? How do you tell them apart? Can they tell each other apart? Renee will talk about more than a decade of work on Uperoleia, which have turned out to be even more complicated (and interesting) than expected. She will also talk about some of the interesting times doing frog fieldwork in the monsoon tropics – both chasing and running from cyclones.

SHOW LESS

Professor Michael Mahony, "Fire, flood and pestilence, but not a plague of frogs" October 2021

Oct 8, 2021

Michael is an Honorary Professor in the School of Environmental and Life Sciences at the University of Newcastle. He is a conservation biologist and his working life has mostly been spent at the University, having studied frogs professionally for over 30 years. Michael spent over a decade on the technical and scientific advisory committee for the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area and the rainforest fauna is one of main interests, although his first work was on desert frogs. Michael is presenting:

"Fire, flood and pestilence, but not a plague of frogs"

Understanding and mitigating the impact of intense and widespread wildfires on frogs is a challenging task. Michael will cover some of the efforts and strategies that his research group has taken since the Black Summer fires of 2019-20. He will place this work in the context of thirty years struggling to deal with an invasive pathogen and the gradual progression of climate warming and drought.