Find out about frogs this week when Dr Paul Doughty, Curator of Herpetology at the Western Australian Museum presents two lectures in Broome and Kununurra as part of the Museum’s 2014 In the Wild West lecture series.
Wet and Wild: Frogs of the Kimberley will delve into recent discoveries and introduce a who’s who of the region’s frogs including conspicuous tree frogs, rockhole frogs and burrowing frogs.
“The various environments of the Kimberley, including savannah plains to rugged sandstone outcrops, combine with the region’s wet season to create a hot spot which is the State’s most frog-rich area,” Dr Doughty said.
“Some of the region’s frogs can be quite charismatic and display fascinating behaviour. The Kimberley Spadefoot, for example, has a unique defensive tactic of lowering its head and raising the hindquarters to deter predators.”
Dr Doughty’s lecture is part of the 2014 In the Wild West lecture series, which, with the support of Rangelands Natural Resource Management Western Australia, will visit Broome, Kununurra, Port Hedland, Karratha and Carnarvon, with lectures repeated at WA Museum sites in Geraldton, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Perth and Fremantle over a six month period.
“With exciting scientific discoveries and interesting cultural developments occurring across the State, the In the Wild West lecture series allows us to share important and relevant stories with Western Australian communities,” WA Museum CEO Alec Coles said.
“This lecture series aligns with the WA Museum’s mission of inspiring people to explore and share their identity, culture, environment and sense of place, and it also underpins the themes supporting the New Museum redevelopment by providing an opportunity to showcase unique biodiversity of our State and to share the incredible stories of our people, all presented by our own curators and researchers.”
While in the region Dr Doughty will also visit two primary schools and a high school in Broome and students from Kununurra District High School.
The Wet and Wild lectures will take place at 7pm on Wednesday 17 September, at the Broome Public Library; and at 6.30pm on Thursday 18 September at the Kununurra Community Library. Bookings can be made on 1300 134 081 or at http://museum.wa.gov.au/whats-on/in-the-wild-west.
Jane Rosevear
Media and Publicity Officer
Western Australian Museum
(08) 6552 7805
jane.rosevear@museum.wa.gov.au
