Did you know that along the coast of KwaZulu-Natal lives what was the only Critically Endangered frog species and one of the most threatened frog species in South Africa? The Pickersgill’s reed frog.
The Pickersgill’s reed frog (Hyperolius pickersgilli) is endemic to KwaZulu-Natal and is an elusive, small little frog. They are quite difficult to find, and that isn’t just because of its diminishing numbers. They are very secretive, quiet and extremely fast, usually hiding amongst a jungle of red beds deep within the fragmented wetland landscapes.
The species distribution is extremely fragmented across the very few fragmented pockets of remaining habitat. The greatest threat to this little species of frog, is the ongoing loss of habitat caused by mining, agriculture and development. Tarrant and Armstrong (2013) discovered subpopulations occurring in 22 isolated sites ranging from Sezela in the South to St Lucia in the North. Out of the 2303km2 range, they only found that the frogs occupied a total land surface area of 9km2. The numbers speak for themselves. As of 2020, it is now known that they are occupying in 38 sites across the coast of KwaZulu-Natal.
The reed frog has been classified as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red list of Threatened Species due to its very small area of occupancy, severe habitat fragmentation and decline in the quality of its habitat. It was once classified as ‘Critically Endangered’ but has been upgraded to Endangered, despite their numbers still decreasing. The reed frog is currently protected in only two of its known sites while 80% of the population remains outside of the official protected areas. It is specially protected within its province under the KwaZulu-Natal Conservation Management Amendment Act (1999). It has been prioritised for conservation research to help conservationist have a greater understanding of this secret species. It is also one of the first threatened frog species in South Africa to be used in captive breeding programme currently being carried out by the National Zoological Gardens in Pretoria, the Johannesburg Zoo and the South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR) in Durban.
The ex situ conservation programme allows scientists to closely study the species, to learn about their needs, with the ultimate goal to release them back into the wild into well-managed and protected habitat. It is also a priority species for the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s (EWT) Threatened Amphibian Programme (TAP) and Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP) with the collaboration of other key stakeholders.
The reed frog is a specialist species that has special requirements that it needs to be able to thrive in its habitat. Frogs are regarded as very good ecological indicators because of their sensitivity to changes in their environment. Frogs ‘drink’ through their skin which makes them highly susceptible to man-made changes in their environment. Even the smallest of changes can affect the Pickersgill’s reed frog, their responses informs ecologists of the quality of the environment, habitat fragmentation, stress on the ecosystem, pollution and other anthropogenic activities that negatively affect the species.
Therefore, to conserve the species we must protect their wetland habitats, which will help secure the species but also help to conserve the other species that rely on the wetland’s ecosystem. Wetlands are amongst the most productive ecosystems with many benefits to the surrounding environments, such as flood control, drought relief, water storage and nutrient retention to name a few. South Africa has lost approximately 50% of the original wetland area and out of the 791 wetland ecosystems types, 48% are critically endangered and is the most endangered ecosystems in all of South Africa. Despite this, 70% of South Africa’s wetland ecosystem types have no protection at all and only 11% are protected well. This highlights the need to protect South Africa’s wetlands and that will inevitably conserve the species that rely on the ecosystem, including the threatened Pickersgill’s reed frog.
Ubuntu Wildlife Trust is dedicated the conservation and preservation of Africa’s biodiversity. We aim to educate and raise awareness to the threats Africa’s biodiversity faces and its most threatened species. We understand how everything living plays an important role in the ecosystem and no matter how big or small, we want to save them all.
Come back next Friday for more interesting facts, #factfriday!
Resources
- IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group & South African Frog Re-assessment Group (SA-FRoG).2016. Hyperolius pickersgilli. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T10644A77165927. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T10644A77165927.en. Downloaded on 13 August 2020.
- SANBI – Pickersgill’s reed frog – https://www.sanbi.org/animal-of-the-week/pickersgills-reed-frog/
- Tarrant, J. & Armstrong, A.J. 2013. Using predictive modelling to guide the conservation of a Critically Endangered coastal wetland amphibian. Journal for Nature Conservation 21(5): 396–381.
