Jodi Rowley

Biologist, curator of amphibian and reptile conservation biology at the Australian Museum and UNSW and co-creator of FrogID

What is FrogID?

It’s a free app you download to your phone and, whenever you hear frogs calling, press record for 20 to 60 seconds. You don’t have to know which frogs they are but I or another expert listen to every call. As a frog biologist and scientist I’m super-excited by the data but what might be more important is that the project’s raised the profile of frogs. This spring and summer we’re aiming to get as many recordings as possible of frogs from areas that were burned by the 2019-2020 bushfires. Initial results are actually really positive; some frog species were calling very soon after the fires, which is remarkable.

Were you always interested in science?

I wasn’t one of those people who knew what they wanted to do when they were a kid. I went on field courses as part of a university trip and that’s when I decided to dedicate my life to doing whatever I could to make sure future generations got to see these amazing creatures.

Frogs are an important indicator of environmental health. Should we be worried about them?

We should be very concerned. In Australia we have 240 species of frogs that we know about but unfortunately we’ve already lost at least four species and there are more than 30 that are threatened with extinction.

seniors we’ve talked to are resilient but there is isolation and also a digital divide. We knew most of them would have a home phone and it would be the easiest way of connecting with them.

How did it work?

There were more than 6000 members over the age of 70 in our database so we set up scripts and resources for our staff and then allocated calls. One staff member reported that a lady she called said she hadn’t spoken in days so her voice was cracking. It’s a critical lifeline to feel connected.

Did you go to a library as a child?