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4h ago

AI Confirms Breeding in Cross-Border Revival of Southern California Red-Legged Frogs

AI analysis of pond audio verified breeding following cross-border egg transplants.

Biologist Adam Backlin looks for red-legged frogs and eggs along the edge of a restoration pond as part of cross-border efforts to bring back the species to Southern California by transplanting eggs from ponds in Baja California, Mexico, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, outside of Murrieta, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Herpetologist David Mora reaches for a red-legged froglet in a restoration pond that is part of a cross-border effort to bring back the native species in both Baja California, Mexico, and Southern California, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, on a ranch outside of El Coyote, Mexico. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
A red-legged froglet peeks out from a restoration pond that is part of a cross-border effort to bring back the native species in both Baja California, Mexico, and Southern California, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, on a ranch outside of El Coyote, Mexico. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Herpetologist Brad Hollingsworth holds a container of red-legged frogs, part of the collection at the San Diego Museum of Natural History, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in San Diego. Hollingsworth uses data from the collection in a cross-border effort to bring back the species to Southern California by transplanting eggs from Baja California, Mexico. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Overview

  • Scientists relocated egg masses from a recovering Baja population to restored ponds in Southern California, then detected the species’ breeding call on Jan. 30 and found an egg mass in March beneath the microphone that recorded it.
  • Project teams now estimate more than 100 adult red-legged frogs occupy the Southern California sites, with tadpoles observed at an additional location.
  • Automated audio tools cut monitoring time by rapidly separating frog calls from other sounds and are slated for near-real-time, satellite-linked alerts to speed responses to threats.
  • Monitors reported no calls from invasive bullfrogs at the featured pond, a key indicator because bullfrogs historically devastated red-legged frog populations.
  • The binational effort led by Fauna del Noroeste with U.S. partners, including the San Diego Natural History Museum, USGS and The Nature Conservancy, overcame pandemic-era permitting and transport hurdles and plans continued egg transfers as Baja numbers have grown from roughly 20 to as many as 400 adults.