Reintroduction of green and golden bell frogs into created habitats on Kooragang Island, Australia: Case Study

The Green and golden bell frog (Litoria aurea), is a semi-aquatic hylid native to south-eastern Australia. Despite being invasive in New Zealand and New Caledonia, L. aurea has disappeared from over 90% of its historical range (Mahony et al., 2013), and now persists only as fragmented populations, predominately along the coast. Consequently, L. aurea is listed as Vulnerable under the IUCN Red List and Australian Commonwealth legislation, and endangered under NSW State legislation. The pathogenic Chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) (Stockwell et al., 2010), habitat loss, and predation by invasive mosquitofish, are the major threats. This reintroduction took place on Kooragang Island (KI) at the mouth of the Hunter River north of Newcastle, NSW, Australia. KI contains one of the largest remnant L. aurea populations in Australia.