Frogs are adorable, but they are also an essential keystone species. Frogs eat a lot of things, and a lot of things eat frogs. Their waste products cycle nutrients through the ecosystem. Like beavers, they alter their environments and help keep them healthy. Frogs are also in trouble. Over 90 species have been wiped out by chytrid fungus, and at least 500 more have declined. Scientists at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, have found a low-tech solution to help out our amphibian friends.
Outbreaks of chytrid (pronounced "KY-trid") are more common in cold winter months – just like seasonal human flu. We found a way to combat these winter outbreaks using heat. Our purpose-built "frog saunas" allow affected amphibians to warm up and bake off their infections. They are so simple you can build a frog sauna using supplies from the hardware store.
The Conversation
They have built frog saunas in Sydney Olympic Park, hoping to protect and grow green and golden bell frog populations. They have provided instructions if you want to make your own DIY saunas.
It's essentially a brick-filled greenhouse, warmed by sunlight. All you need is some common clay ten-hole masonry bricks, black paint and cable ties – and a little greenhouse to put the sauna inside.
Chytrid fungus is not just in Australia. It threatens amphibians in Africa, the Americas, Europe, New Zealand, and Oceania. It likely originated in Asia, where the native species have developed resistance to it.
Previously: Love a good snout? Check out the duck-billed tree frog!
