Whose ribbit is that? I found 'that' a question which frequently comes to mind when listening to the chirps, ribbits, boinks, jingles, peeps, trills and croaks calling from a pond, wetland or even your backyard at night.
Why Are Frogs & Toads So Valuable To Our Ecosystem
These peeps, chirps and ribbits are vital to the health of the wetlands, ponds/lakes, marshes, vernal ponds. But the larger picture is the direct relation of the health of frogs and toads to the health of the ecosystem and stormwater management in this area.
Frogs and toads are indicator species. Sensitive to changes in the environment, the health of these species are indicators of the health of our ecosystem. That's the thumbnail! But oh so much more goes into why It Is Not Easy Being Green.
Froggy Voice is an app designed to help you distinguish the calls of each species specifically for the species in the River Rouge Watershed and the annual Frog & Toad Survey. I learned about this app at the Frog & Toad Survey Workshops by the Friends Of The Rouge to train volunteers to participate in their annual Frog & Toad Survey.
This hyper local app is a practical and purposeful tool for the surveyors as well as an educational tool for anyone interested in learning how to distinguish the calls of frogs and toads and appreciate their contribution to a healthy ecosystem.
Practical App
Form, function and design seamlessly meet to solve exactly what the user asks in a one stop app. No need to google your question as
Froggy Voice already knows why you are there, what you need, what you want and provides the answers all on one screen.
The Frog & Toad Survey is an annual survey to assess the health of the frogs and toads in the Rouge Watershed. Briefly a watershed is an area that drains into a river. In my area the Rouge River watershed is 467 square miles which drains into the Detroit River. This is miles and miles of high density urban development intermingled within lakes, rivers, marshes and wetlands.
It can be overwhelming for a novice surveyor to distinguish the calls of the frogs and toads whether in practice or during an on site survey. Froggy Voice was designed to help the novice and experienced surveyors while being a fun educational tool.
For novice surveyors Froggy Voice helps accentuate the training to assist new surveyors of the nuances of the calls of each species. The app contains 12 frog calls and 2 toad calls with the caveat this app is specifically designed for species found in the River Rouge Watershed.
For experienced surveyors the app is a helpful reminder of the calls of the frogs and toads found in the watershed. The annual frog and toad survey season is short and occurs March through June in my area.
Multicaller Function
For both the novice and experienced surveyors the Multicaller function is extremely helpful to distinguish the 'who is who' when hearing frog calls from different species simultaneously.
A virtual mix and match of frog sounds can be accomplished in a click of the mouse. The user simply clicks the icons of the desired frog species to hear the combination of frog calls. An invaluable feature for on site surveying when you hear multiple frog calls to ensure accuracy for your survey.
Responsiveness
Froggy Voice is a responsive app which can be accessed via desktop or mobile. I have used the app on desktop, iOS mobile and android devices and found the app performs equally across all platforms.
Last weekend my survey partner and I headed out to our survey area and as novices loved the ability to have the mobile version of the app on our phones. So easy, so convenient and so helpful!
If interested in learning more about how frogs and toads directly relate to the health of your environment, your neighborhood, and your wetlands additional resources are below.
Resources
Frog & Toad Surveying, Friends of The Rouge (FOTR)
Rouge River Watershed Amphibian Assessment, Rouge River Advisory Council,
Froggy Voice by Bingle
Rouge River National Wet Weather Demonstration Project, Alliance of the Rouge Communities
2020 Frog & Survey Results, FOTR
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