The Croak #10 - Uncovering the Secrets of Bilbo's Rain Frog

Understanding the Conservation needs of the Critically Endangered Bilbo's Rain Frog

Did you know that South Africa is home to its very own Hobbit?

There is a strange and peculiar creature that dwells in the grassy highlands of KwaZulu-Natal, spending most of its time underground, probably reading a book and enjoying a warm cup of tea. It’s called the Bilbo’s Rain Frog (Breviceps bagginsi), and is highly localised and threatened as a result of the recent description of Breviceps batrachophiliorum, which split the two species and placed B. bagginsi in the Critically Endangered category.

Bilbo’s Rain Frog is a special case. Named after the famous burrowing character in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, this species doesn’t dream of adventure any more or less than the other species of the Breviceps genus, but the adventures that await this species might be short-lived. The uplisting to Critically Endangered (CR) means that urgent research is needed to inform conservation planning for the species.

Two Bilbo's Rain Frog males that was dug up during a rainy night survey.

This forms part of my PhD project: to save a species from imminent extinction through a stakeholder engagement-based conservation approach. Since the start of September to mid-November I have been in the area of Melmoth, KZN, to initiate some very important conservation work.

Here's a little background on the project: Bilbo's rain frog is one of many species whose habitat is impacted by the timber and paper industry that spans the eastern side of South Africa. This species was described in 2003 by Prof Louis du Preez and Prof Les Minter and was then declared Vulnerable. As part of current Red List assessment updates, taking into account the description of the new Breviceps from a distant population that was previously thought to be Bilbo's Rain Frog. This meant that Bilbo's Rain Frog's entire known range is restricted to a small area that is primarily used for Pine, Gum and Wattle plantations. The currently understood range means that less than 1% the population occurs in protected areas.

A Bilbo's Rain Frog male observed in-situ.

Fortunately, local timber companies are open to working together to improve the understanding of this species, and they are showing amazing willingness and collaboration to do what needs to be done to recover the remaining wild population of Bilbo’s Rain Frog. Agreements and paperwork are well under-way, and meetings have already been scheduled to discuss what the future might look like for this species.

After the first field trip we have improved the understanding of where this species occurs, and what habitat it prefers; all preparation for some exciting and advanced research planned for next year! After approximately 6000km of transects and more than 500 hours of in-situ fieldwork we can see trends of habitat preferences, threats and their severity, distribution hotspots and extent of occurrences. There are associations between various biotic and abiotic factors that could play dominant or co-dominant influences on the spatial distribution of the species; factors like altitude, or soil and vegetation type may play one of the biggest roles in the species’ occurrence, but it is difficult to determine because so much habitat has already been lost. These are all insights that will support the sustainable future of Bilbo’s Rain Frog to protect remaining habitats where it can survive and thrive (maps based on inaccurate data and can only be used for demonstration purposes).

Vegetation types and altitude are two of the primary biotic and abiotic factors thought to influence this species distribution.

Bilbo’s Rain Frog also occurs in some areas while others appear to not host the species, even though it seems to be suitable habitat. We start to wonder if they are being evicted. Are they re-populating or might this just be the start of a slow genetic extinction? Whatever the case may be, we can see that the threats to this species are undeniable: I find myself staring at the immense size of these timber plots. It is hectares upon hectares of monoculture mosaics that would eventually be used for the paper industry and construction materials. But persistence and breakthrough shines through it all. All over, I am seeing remnants of a once wider-spread species; in between boma’s and traditional huts, among old sugarcane fields, within naturalising timber plots, everywhere I can hear this very special species calling, which hopefully indicates breeding.

The fragmented mosaic landscape of the Melmoth region.

What I am learning from these past few trips is that species extinction is a very real event and it is happening faster than we are prepared for it to happen. Bilbo’s Rain Frog and its remaining populations are evidence of what could be a silent, heartbreaking loss of a species that could easily have been avoided, but also the determination for life to find a way, and it’s constant yearn for a life in harmony with us.

Highly disturbed habitat with extremely active and calling Bilbo's Rain Frog populations.

In this case, the need for community-based support is extremely important, but so is that from corporate companies, governments, and any philanthropic support. This was expressed clearly in IUCN’s newest conservation priorities & resolutions for global amphibians based on the last G20 summit that took place in Montreal.

Questions that will be answered during the next fieldwork will lean heavily on advanced acoustic surveys and monitoring that should help us estimate population sizes and densities, feeding directly into the development, testing and implementation of various land management regimes. Improving the understanding of the species through these techniques will help improve our understanding of the impact of fire management, grazing, fertilization of plots and harvesting of timber stands on this species, and it is critical to implement the best practice for sustainable conservation of the species through improved management. This will help us to determine the exact biotic and abiotic factors within our control that best influences the spread of Bilbo’s Fain frog’s distribution for us to secure support and investment from key parties such as remaining corporate stakeholders, private landowners, governmental and local (traditional) sectors for an efficient long-term conservation and management plan structured around a dynamic stakeholder accountability system participating by all affecting this species.