FrogID FAQs
We are excited to hear you’re interested in contributing to FrogID.
There might be a few questions you have around the project. Review the list below to see if you can find an answer quickly so you can get started with FrogID.
GENERAL Q&A
FrogID is Australia’s first national frog identification project, created by the Australian Museum, focused on frog calls. It is a citizen science project that enables registered users with a smartphone to submit audio recordings of frogs, whenever they hear them. These recordings are then listened to and identified by one or more frog call experts at the Australian Museum, and the user is notified of what species of frog they recorded. The FrogID app also captures date, time and location data that informs scientists and conservation biologists on frog distribution and breeding behaviour.
For a detailed guide on how to use FrogID, visit here.
For a video on how to use FrogID, visit here.
We encourage image submissions to iNaturalist at www.inaturalist.org or to the Australian Museum species image identification service: https://australian.museum/learn/species-identification/
Both iNaturalist and FrogID submit research-grade records to the Atlas of Living Australia for research and conservation purposes.
FrogID relies on frog calls submitted through the FrogID app to verify species. Every frog species in Australia makes a unique call and many frog species are indistinguishable by appearance alone. Through FrogID recordings we can identify frog species with high accuracy which helps better understand the true distributions of frog species. Recording frog calls with the FrogID app also minimises disturbance to frogs and their habitat and builds vital information for frog conservation, such as the breeding seasons and breeding habitats of frogs.
Every FrogID submission is listened to by one or more frog call experts at the Australian Museum. Depending on the species recorded and time of year, FrogID submissions can take a few days to a few weeks to be confirmed.
Since October 2022, our team has been receiving thousands of submissions each week, which is great! However we may be delayed in getting back to you. Our team will be prioritising FrogID Week 2022 submissions before returning to other dates and we greatly appreciate your patience with us.
Please let us know if your FrogID submissions are for urgent biodiversity reporting purposes and we will aim to escalate these for you.
Thank you for your recordings!
There are two ways to set up an account, either in the profile section of the FrogID app or at the login page on the website (https://www.frogid.net.au/login). Once you have an account you are free to contribute frog calls as often as you like.
When you sign up to FrogID you will need to verify the email address that you used to sign up. Not doing this will prevent you from submitting calls and being able to log in to your account. If you have not received an email in your inbox, please:
- Check you junk/spam folder,
- Or contact calls@frogid.net.au with your user name and email address you tried to set up and we will help you out.
The app doesn’t yet have an in-built automatic identification function (we’re working on it!). When you record a frog, based on the location, habitat and water body info you enter, the app filters the potential matches for you.
When you submit a recording to us, at least one member of our team of scientists will then listen to the call and identify what frog species they hear. You will then get an email informting you what species have been verified. The info will also show up in your FrogID profile on the app and FrogID website.
It is super important that you submit records even if you know what species of frog they are, as this increases our data, and helps researchers and land-managers better understand and conserve Australia’s frogs.
Male frogs call to attract females of their own species to breed, and frogs prefer to breed near water – streams, ponds, dams, wetlands are all good places to start.
The simple answer is – when you hear a frog calling, record it!
After rain is often the best time to hear frogs. Spring and Summer is breeding season for many frog species, while others call only in Autumn and/or Winter months, and some species call year-round. We want to hear your local frogs all year round to understand what is in your area and when they are breeding.
Many Australian frog species are nocturnal and will only call at night – the first few hours after dark is the best time to hear frogs. However, there are always exceptions to the rule and you may find some species calling during the day, particularly during wet weather.
We want you to send in recordings as frequently as possible. Ideally, once per day in the same location is good, but if you hear a different species calling after already having made a recording in that spot, then record that one too. Recording our common species often is valuable to science as it helps understand trends and if anything is changing over time.
One of the reasons that frog populations are declining is disease, in particular a type of fungus called the amphibian chytrid fungus. This fungus attacks the skin of frogs and can cause them to die. The amphibian chytrid fungus is thought to be one of the main factors that four of Australia’s frog species are now Extinct.
The amphibian chytrid fungus can be spread by touching one frog and then another, or
on your boots, clothing or equipment. To ensure that you don’t spread disease, it’s important not to touch frogs and to disinfect your boots and equipment between sites, avoid heading off track into the frog’s habitat too.
The Cane Toad is a type of frog, and if a Cane Toad is calling, please record it with the FrogID app. This information is shared with biosecurity agencies and groups researching Cane Toad populations across Australia, helping us understand the current distribution and impact of this introduced species. The FrogID app acts as an early warning system for any Cane Toads accidentally transported outside of their known range.
If you have Cane Toads in your area, regular FrogID recordings will help. There are some great examples of what a Cane Toad sounds like on the FrogID app or website.
You can edit your FrogID account details by accessing your Profile screen on the FrogID mobile app, or by logging into your account via the FrogID website at www.frogid.net.au/login
Yes you can, you are able to delete your FrogID account from the profile section of the FrogID website (there is a link to this in the app). This will remove all identifiable information from your records, however FrogID will retain the recordings and associated data to use in our research. Please be aware, you will not be able to get any future access to your past records once you have deleted your account.
Like many apps, FrogID uses data on your device. Uploading and downloading content via a WIFI network is the fastest and cheapest option. Anyone using FrogID should consider their own data use, so please check your personal phone plan to understand your data allocation and any potential data charges that may apply to downloading and using the FrogID app.
You can record calling frogs at any time with the FrogID app. If you do not have reception simply hit the submit button after making the recording and it will be sent next time you open the app when you have reception. If you are not logged in while the recording is made, next time you have reception and open the app, log in and then submit the recordings in the ‘Not Submitted’ folder in your profile.
To view all of your FrogID submissions, log into your account via the FrogID website at www.frogid.net.au/login and navigate to My Captures. To listen to your recordings, or to download a copy of the audio file, select the play icon under Media.
Please note, recordings cannot be edited once submitted to the FrogID database.
After recording, select the Null Record option on the filters screen and then select Submit. Please only select the Null Record option when:
- you are certain that no frogs are calling.
- at a site where you have heard frogs before, or you suspect they are there at other times.
Please only submit one null record per day per site.
Learn more about FrogID absence records at https://australian.museum/blog/amri-news/absence-records-frogid-app/
Frogs like bugs, but we don’t! We work with developers to regularly update and upgrade our systems, but unfortunately it is not always perfect. Some issues that are encountered include:
- Some users cannot see/access all of the content – this usually occurs when the offline content has not been downloaded and the app doesn’t have a secure connection to access it from the cloud. Please make sure you hit yes when the app asks you to download offline content.
- From time to time the app may crash (or involuntarily exit you) – this can be related to it trying to process too much information. Sometimes navigating too quickly, particularly when the connection is poor will cause this to happen. Please be patient as each screen loads, especially when you first open the app.
- The app doesn’t work on all devices – unfortunately while we have done our best to make the app as accessible as possible, as technology changes so too does compatibility. We try to stay as up to date as possible. The app should be functional on smartphone operating systems iOS 10.2.1 and Android 5.0 and above. The app is currently not compatible with tablet devices.
There are some simple trouble shooting options that all users can try if you encounter problems with the app, such as restarting the app, turning the phone off and back on again, or upgrading to the latest app version.
DELETING AND RE-INSTALLING THE APP WILL REMOVE ALL THE NOT YET SUBMITTED
RECORDING DATA ON YOUR PHONE, THIS SHOULD ONLY EVER BE DONE AS A LAST
RESORT, AND ONLY IF YOU ARE PREPARED FOR DATA TO BE LOST.
If you continue to have issues with the app, or your problem is not listed above, please email us at calls@frogid.net.au with your user name or email, a description of the issue, what operating software is on your device, which version of the FrogID app you are using, and the make and model of the device. We will do our best to help you from there.