once upon a time in the west - stellenbosch...

Example of breeding habitat occupied by Painted Reed Frogs in the Western Cape: The Painted Reed Frog Project is supported by DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology, Stellenbosch University ♦ the Southern African Frog Atlas Project, Animal Demography Unit, UCT ♦ CapeNature ♦ SANParks FAQ: What do these frogs look like? Painted Reed Frogs are small (20 – 35 mm), brightly coloured frogs who are excellent climbers. They live and breed around permanent dams, pans and ponds but sometimes stray into houses and other buildings (or even vehicles). Males call with a loud (103.5 dB @ 50 cm) whistle on summer nights. Frogs from different parts of the country have several different colour patterns as shown above, but young frogs are plain brown for the first year. Why are they moving to new areas of SA? Increasing trade and transport by road may contribute to moving the frogs around, while an abundance of farms dams and more summer rainfall may be making the province more suitable for Painted Reed Frogs to survive and thrive in. Does the spread of the Painted Reed Frog have any influence on the endemic Arum Lily Frog (Hyperolius horstockii) or any other frogs? We do not know yet how the two species interact. It is possible that the new‐ comers might compete with Arum Lily Frogs for insect prey, calling sites, or ‘air time’ in breeding choruses. What are the differences between the two species? Arum Lily Frogs are larger than Painted Reed Frogs and have a more strident ‘quacking’ call, while the PRF has a clear whistle. Visit www.sun.ac.za/cib/team/staff/sarah/paintedreedfrog.htm to hear the calls of both species. Arum Lily Frog Photo © AA Turner Painted Reed Frogs (Hyperolius marmoratus) were historically restricted to the eastern part of South Africa, (Limpopo, Mpumalanga, coastal KwaZulu- Natal and the Eastern Cape, southwards to the George/Mossel Bay area), During the Southern African Frog Atlas surveys (1997 to 2003) frogs were noticed in the western part of the Western Cape. The map on the right shows that the frogs have spread westwards with time. Blue-grey show where the frog occurred prior to 1997; pink and red are sightings from 2004 to 2008. What is happening? You can help! If you see or hear Painted Reed Frogs, note down the date, time and place you found them and photograph the frog and/or record its call if possible. The locality can be a street address, farm name or GPS reference, but should include the district or area for verification. Contact: Sarah Davies tel. 021 808 3922 e-mail [email protected] Approx. scale: 1 cm All of the frogs on the left are Painted Reed Frogs. Note that Painted Reed Frogs shelter in arum lilies! The map is compiled from the SAFAP database, CapeNature’s State of Biodiversity database and recent field surveys. $ $ $ $ $ $$$ $ $ $$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $$ $$ $ $ $ $$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $$ $ $ $ $ $ $ SOUTH AFRICA new range previous range ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST The story of the Painted Reed Frog in the Western Cape

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Page 1: ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST - Stellenbosch …academic.sun.ac.za/cib/team/staff/sarah/prf_links/MarmFlyer2008_A4.pdfExample of breeding habitat occupied by Painted Reed Frogs in the

Example of breeding habitat occupied by Painted Reed Frogs in the Western Cape:

The Painted Reed Frog Project is supported by DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology, Stellenbosch University ♦ the Southern African Frog Atlas Project, Animal Demography Unit, UCT ♦ CapeNature ♦ SANParks

FAQ:What do these frogs look like? Painted Reed Frogs are small (20 – 35 mm), brightly coloured frogs who are excellent climbers. They live and breed around permanent dams, pans and ponds but sometimes stray into houses and other buildings (or even vehicles). Males call with a loud (103.5 dB @ 50 cm) whistle on summer nights. Frogs from different parts of the country have several different colour patterns as shown above, but young frogs are plain brown for the first year.

Why are they moving to new areas of SA? Increasing trade and transport by road may contribute to moving the frogs around, while an abundance of farms dams and more summer rainfall may be making the province more suitable for Painted Reed Frogs to survive and thrive in.

Does the spread of the Painted Reed Frog have any influence on the endemic Arum Lily Frog (Hyperolius horstockii) or any other frogs? We do not know yet how the two species interact. It is possible that the new‐comers might compete with Arum Lily Frogs for insect prey, calling sites, or ‘air time’ in breeding choruses.

What are the differences between the two species? Arum Lily Frogs are larger than Painted Reed Frogs and have a more strident ‘quacking’ call, while the PRF has a clear whistle. Visit www.sun.ac.za/cib/team/staff/sarah/paintedreedfrog.htm to hear the calls of both species.

Arum Lily FrogPhoto © AA Turner

Painted Reed Frogs (Hyperolius marmoratus) were historically restricted to the eastern part of South Africa, (Limpopo, Mpumalanga, coastal KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, southwards to the George/Mossel Bay area), During the Southern African Frog Atlas surveys (1997 to 2003) frogs were noticed in the western part of the Western Cape. The map on the right shows that the frogs have spread westwards with time. Blue-grey show where the frog occurred prior to 1997; pink andred are sightings from 2004 to 2008.

What is happening?

You can help!If you see or hear Painted Reed Frogs, note down the date, time and place you found them and photograph the frog and/or record its call if possible. The locality can be a street address, farm name or GPS reference, but should include the district or area for verification.

Contact: Sarah Davies tel. 021 808 3922e-mail [email protected]

Approx. scale: 1 cm

All of the frogs on the left are Painted Reed Frogs. Note that Painted Reed Frogs shelter in arum lilies!

The map is compiled from the SAFAP database, CapeNature’s State of Biodiversity database and recent field surveys.

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SOUTH AFRICA

new range previous range

ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST