Frogs
International Frog Week is this month and is a time to consider our own very small and very unique amphibians-especially Archey’s and Hochstetter’s.
Archey’s is very rare and endangered and found in two main locales- Moehau Range and the Whareorino Range- a frog of the forest, living under rotting logs or rocks.
Numbers have been decimated firstly by the Chytrid fungus, (which is affecting populations of amphibians worldwide), and also by predation from rats. It is also thought that feral pigs have severely damaged some habitats as well.
Through a piece of detective work worthy of  “CSI” the infection in this country was tracked back to a pet shop importer in Christchurch who in the late 1980’s introduced frogs from overseas, which unfortunately carried the disease. It didn’t take long before it began affecting not only the green frog immigrants from Australia, but knocked Archey’s numbers very seriously. As these frogs produce very few young(10-12 for archeys, three to four hundred for green frogs) and are long lived, recovery of populations is extremely slow. Add some rat predation to the mix and it’s a recipe for disaster.
Fortunately, some very “onto it” ecologists and scientists were able to identify some of the problems and rescue efforts have been put into place.
To date it seems that there has been some recovery naturally- a possible adaption to the fungus- but there is still a long way to go. Reducing rats is helping with their recovery.
In contrast, while there has been some evidence of Hochstetter’s frog’s contracting the disease, very few have, and populations have remained healthy.
Hochstetters are a stream frog living under rocks at stream edge or around seepages.
Will keep you posted of improvements if and when they come to hand!

Trees
More eco-sourced native trees were planted in a small wetlands area at Waikawau Bay. A group of overseas volunteers helped for two days to erect a permanent electric fence and plant just over 200 trees and shrubs, including Kahikatea and Totara. Been good weather for it and they should all take off !
It will be so nice to see stands of these trees in a few years dotted around the hills and wetlands.