Colin McHenry
University of Newcastle
The golden frog in the valley of coal: conserving one of Australia's last great Green and Golden Bell Frog populations
Wednesday 5th August
From 5:30 pm - Talk starts 7:30 pm
The Elgin Inn, Hawthorn
or on Zoom: https://unimelb.zoom.us/j/85016167382?pwd=TcxJLN3j0QttSrcz3b7SUxVCJdrxjG.1
Password: frogsvic
Once common across eastern New South Wales, the Green and Golden Bell Frog has declined severely and now persists in isolated coastal populations. One of the most important occurs on Kooragang Island, in the Hunter River estuary, where the frogs survive in a landscape of RAMSAR wetlands alongside the heavy industry of Newcastle Harbour. More than a decade of collaboration between the University of Newcastle, government agencies and industry has transformed our understanding of this remarkable population and the processes underpinning its persistence. After several years of relative stability, however, the population has declined sharply since 2021. Having persisted despite disease and invasive predators, climate change now appears to be pushing the population towards a critical threshold. In response, a long-standing partnership between researchers, government and industry is building on this ecological understanding to develop a management toolkit designed to halt and ultimately reverse the decline.
Dr Colin McHenry has spent more than a decade studying the Green and Golden Bell Frog on Kooragang Island in the Hunter River estuary. His research explores the ecological processes that underpin the persistence of one of New South Wales' most important remaining populations and how that understanding can be translated into practical conservation.
All are welcome in the audience - no RSVP/registration necessary
Join us upstairs at The Elgin Inn 75 Burwood Road, Hawthorn VIC 3122
from 6 pm for dinner and drinks (available for purchase),talk starts at 7:30pm
