Daily and seasonal calling activity of the growling grass frog litoria raniformis in northern suburban Melbourne

Acoustic recorders were used during spring, summer and autumn of 2017–2018 to try to record the call of a threatened frog species, the Growling Grass Frog Litoria raniformis. Calling was recorded at three sites along the northern urban boundary of Melbourne, Victoria. Litoria raniformis calls were recorded most frequently from an old quarry hole, followed by a pool in the Merri Creek and then from a stormwater settling pond. The first L. raniformis call was recorded during late September 2017 and the last in early February 2018. The majority of L. raniformis calls were recorded nocturnally throughout October, November and December 2017, although the timing of the calling activity varied across the three sites. This study found the automated operation of the recorders assisted in identifying the nocturnal call behaviour of L. raniformis.