Lake Macquarie research grants back push to protect endangered bell frog at Muddy Lake

newy.com.au – Lake Macquarie City Council has opened applications for its Environmental Research Grants Program, highlighting University of Newcastle research aimed at protecting the green and golden bell frog at Muddy Lake in Dora Creek.

The endangered amphibian now persists in isolated pockets along the NSW coastline, with the council saying the species has been reduced locally to a single Lake Macquarie population at Muddy Lake.

PhD student Kate Tunstill, who is working with University of Newcastle researcher Dr Alex Callen, has carried out more than 10 surveys at the site for research, microchipping and monitoring.

“We gave it an eco-health check because surveys aren’t conducted for the Muddy Lake population, and what we’ve discovered is it’s probably integral to the survival and conservation of this species going forwards,” Tunstill said.

Callen said council grant funding had helped the team identify why Muddy Lake could be sustaining the frogs. “It looks like Muddy Lake is what we call a bit of a Goldilocks zone – a sweet spot – and it meets the needs of the green and golden bell frog because of the hydrological characteristics,” she said.

The researchers are examining how coastal conditions may help the species persist despite the spread of chytrid disease in freshwater environments. “Chytrid disease is prevalent in our freshwater environments here. That’s what’s affected the decline of the bell frog, and we think the salt water in coastal habitats is acting to mitigate the disease,” Callen said.

Chytridiomycosis is an infectious disease caused by the chytrid fungus, and can lead to sporadic deaths and, in some cases, 100% mortality in amphibian populations, according to the council.

Tunstill said the council funding had supported fieldwork and lab testing, and urged other students and researchers to apply. “It helped with basically every component at that site, so conducting surveys and costs associated with that, keeping equipment out, running the genetic analysis, running the disease analysis and more,” she said.

The team also breeds green and golden bell frogs at the University of Newcastle through the Centre for Conservation Science, with the long-term aim of identifying suitable locations to reintroduce the species along the NSW coast, using Muddy Lake’s conditions as a guide.

Applications for the Environmental Research Grants Program close on Thursday 12 February 2026, with up to $8000 available for projects supporting land-use practices, remedial and preventative works and adjustments to management strategies; the program is supported by Origin Energy, Delta Electricity and Hunter Water Corporation, and applications can be lodged via the council’s website.