KOCHI: The Centre for Citizen Science and Biodiversity Informatics under the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) will organise “Monsoon Croaks Bioblitz 2024”, a citizen science programme aimed at documenting the frogs of Kerala from June 1 to September 30.
People of all ages can participate in this project by uploading photographs of frogs and their sounds through the iNaturalist app. All scientific observations made available during BioBlitz will become part of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), a biodiversity open-source database. This information can be used for biodiversity awareness, habitat conservation, conservation status assessment of various species, scientific literacy, climate change research and policymaking,” said Centre for Citizen Science and Biodiversity Informatics coordinator Dr Peroth Balakrishnan.
“Monsoon is the breeding season of frogs. But many factors like changing rainfall pattern, climate change, habitat loss, water pollution, vehicular traffic and related road kills are affecting their survival. As a result, 41 per cent of the world’s frogs are on the Red List of IUCN Endangered species. The situation is no different in Kerala, which has more than 200 frog species,” he added.
Interested individuals can join the Monsoon Croaks Bioblitz 2024 by scanning the QR code. For more information, visit the Center for Citizen Science and Biodiversity Informatics website (www.ccsbi.kfri.res.in).