We use data from the citizen science project FrogID, comprised of expert-validated, spatially accurate occurrence records of frog species across Australia, to map the known distributions of Australia’s frogs. We combined over half a million occurrence records of 209 species from the FrogID dataset with expert-checked occurrence data from the national biodiversity data aggregate (Atlas of Living Australia) and published literature, to create distribution maps for all 247 native frog species known from Australia and the introduced cane toad (Rhinella marina). These maps represent the most up-to-date, accurate and detailed set of Australian frog species maps available, and reveal species richness patterns across the continent. They are an Open Access resource for researchers, conservation practitioners and land managers, with the aim of better understanding and conserving Australia’s frogs. This is version one of the Australian Frog Atlas, which we expect to update on an approximately annual basis. The Australian Frog Atlas maps—as shapefiles and in KML format—are published online as an Open Access supplemental dataset (see Cutajar et al., 2021).
Acoustic communication is vital to the survival and fitness of many vertebrates. While successful communication is reliant on acoustic signals reaching an intended receiver and maintaining content fidelity, propagating signals are attenuated by environmental factors such as habitat type. The acoustic adaptation hypothesis (AAH) predicts that the acoustic properties of signals are selected for optimal transmission in the habitats in which they propagate. To date, consistent evidence to support the theory is lacking, but studies have typically been primarily based on localized datasets with small sample sizes. Citizen science is emerging as a potential means to overcome the challenges associated with broad‐scale sampling, allowing us to assess the validity of the AAH in frogs on a continental scale. We analysed the male advertisement calls of 674 individual banjo frogs (Limnodynastes dorsalis, L. dumerilii, L. interioris and L. terraereginae) from across their range, pairing these citizen science data with remotely sensed measures of habitat complexity. While we detected considerable variation in acoustic structure within and among banjo frog species, this was not strongly correlated with habitat complexity. Thus, we found no support for the AAH. However, with our study spanning an area of over 1.7 million km2, we conducted the largest‐scale test of the AAH in frogs to date, contributing to the global understanding of acoustic signal evolution.
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