Tailed Frog eDNA Assessment in the Bridge/Seton Watersheds

The Tailed Frog has been identified as a management priority within FWCP’s Bridge-Seton Species Action Plan. Advances in methods used to detect aquatic species have greatly improved the ability to detect cryptic species in their natural habitats. The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) has a proven 98 per cent detection probability when used to survey Coastal Tailed Frog and, if applied to the Bridge-Seton watersheds, promises to advance understanding of the current distribution of this species. Up to 75 streams within the FWCP application area, will be inventoried using eDNA methods to more accurately document occurrences for this Blue-Listed, stream-dwelling amphibian. A more accurate understanding of species distribution is required for effective and efficient species management.

The benefits of this project include:

• Resource managers will gain an improved understanding of Tailed Frog distribution at the basin and site-specific level.
• The local community will gain an improved appreciation for amphibian biology, and will gain an improved understanding and awareness of FWCP’s conservation activities.

This project will achieve key objectives as outlined in the FWCP Action Plan, and by using eDNA methods, will build on the current understanding of the Coastal Tailed Frog’s distribution and abundance in the Bridge-Seton watersheds. In addition, this study will position researchers to develop an efficient long-term monitoring program. This work will build upon previous Coastal Tailed Frog survey work within the Bridge-Seton watersheds. There have been 95 streams sampled for Coastal Tailed Frog, however, sampling methods used were notably less effective for detecting Tailed Frog relative to newly proven methods using eDNA.