Mandookavani: An acoustic guide to frogs and toads of the Western Ghats

["Gururaja K. V." <>]

Hi all,

Western Ghats of India is a home to over 200 species of frogs and toads. It amounts to about 50% of the total amphibian diversity in India. For the first time in India, a group of amphibian researchers have complied a comprehensive digital audio database of 70 anuran species found in the Western Ghats in a compact disc titled “Mandookavani” (Sanskrit: Mandooka – Frog, Vani – Speech). The CD was launched by Dr. Subramanya S (University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore) on April 19, 2015 at Jaaga Startup, Bengaluru. Designed to serve as a field guide, each species is named, followed by its vocalization of up to 30 sec duration. Using acoustics as a guide to identify frogs would  serve as a non-intrusive sampling method for documenting and recording anuran species diversity and conserving them in our backyards.

This initiative is an outcome of field effort spanning over a decade. Studies on understanding anuran vocalizations are limited in India as compared to birds in the region. This is largely due to the lack of a comprehensive database of calls. 

This database is available as a compact disc and Gubbi Labs LLP has published it. It can be ordered online at <http://www.buyit.cc/5425>

About the Authors:
Ramya Badrinath, a Research Associate at Gubbi Labs, currently works on building acoustic databases of anurans and curates call recordings. Seshadri K S has previously studied several ecological systems in India and S E Asia, and currently studies the ecology of bamboo nesting frogs in South Asia. Ramit Singal is currently engaged in a project to assess and conserve the faunal diversity in low-lying laterite grasslands of southern coastal Karnataka and Gururaja K V is a chief scientist at Gubbi Labs studies amphibian ecology, behavioral biology, acoustics, conservation and management. He is also involved actively in citizen science projects.

with warm regards

Gururaja