Cape Town - Volunteers from the SANParks honorary rangers undertook a sensitive conservation project this weekend with the Freshwater Ecosystems Project, building boardwalks over a key habitat area of the Table Mountain ghost frog, a critically endangered species on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature red list.
The Table Mountain ghost frog is a rare and elusive frog species endemic to a small section of Table Mountain.
The weekend’s conservation activities were possible thanks to a collaborative effort and form part of the larger Freshwater Ecosystems Project to improve the quality of freshwater ecosystems on Table Mountain, ensuring the survival of the species.
Josh Weeber, conservation ecologist at the Endangered Wildlife Trust, explained that although the species had been listed as critically endangered since 2004, no detailed study could be undertaken to better understand where and how threats were impacting the frog’s habitat.
This led to several organisations, including the SA National Biodiversity Institute, the Endangered Wildlife Trust, South African National Parks (SANParks), Cape Nature and UCT coming together in 2019 to form the Freshwater Ecosystems Project.
“This species needs clear pools with large boulders and limited quantities of sand and silt. One thing that really impacts this is erosion from overused hiking paths, which transport sand into the stream channel,” he said.
As a result, a boardwalk was needed to decrease erosion around streams and mitigate the negative impact of paths that run near streams, as unnaturally high levels of sand and silt in the stream channel were the primary threats impacting the frog species.
Kenneth Carden, chairperson of the SANParks honorary rangers in the Table Mountain region, said they were approached by the Cape Research Centre, the research node for SANParks, to assist the team from the Freshwater Ecosystems Project with building boardwalk structures over a few of the streams where the ghost frog tadpoles are found.
“The honorary rangers were fortunate in securing a donation from an overseas-based philanthropist. These funds were earmarked for trail maintenance, footpath upgrades and conservation projects. More funding is required for many similar projects in the Table Mountain National Park,” Carden said.
Stephen Floyd, honorary ranger patroller and chairperson of the Tokai Cecelia facilities work group, said: “The two-day construction work on site by nine of us went well. It was hard work, but great fun … We do hope to attract younger volunteers and SANParks interns to pass on some of our skills.”
Carden said the initiative was a great example of the power of collaboration between many parties towards a positive conservation outcome.
Funders supporting this conservation research include the Table Mountain Fund, Synchronicity Earth and Anglo American.