Frogwatch Reading Answers

Jan 27, 2023

Frogwatch Reading Answers contains sample answers about frogwatch membership and species of frog. Frogwatch Reading Answers comprising 12 different types of questions. IELTS Frogwatch Reading Answers contains two types of questions: yes/no/not given and match the statements given with the correct name of the researcher. For matching the researcher with the statements given, candidates are required to read in the IELTS Reading passage thoroughly. To decide whether the given statements reflect the claim of the writer or not, or whether it's not given, candidates are required to read the passage efficiently. To gain proficiency, candidates can practise from the IELTS Reading practice papers

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Frogwatch Reading Answers

Frogwatch, a remarkable success story started in Western Australia, is the brainchild of Dr. Ken Aplin. His work, as the curator of reptiles and frogs in the Western Australian Museum, invoked long field trips and he wondered if a community-based frog-rmonitoring network could help him keep track of frogs. Through such a network, ordinary untrained members of the community could learn about frog habitats, observe the numbers and kinds of frogs in their local area, and report this information to the museum.

'Launched in 1995, Frogwatch recently gained its 3221st member, and many people say that this is the best thing the museum has ever done. Each participant receives a ‘Frogwatch Kit’ - a regular newsletter, an audio tape of frog calls and identification sheets. Recently, Frogwatch membership increased dramatically when a mysterious parasitic fungus disease began attacking frogs nationwide. Although research is yet incomplete, scientists suspect the fungus originated overseas, perhaps in South America, where frogs have died in catastrophic numbers from a fungus disease genetically similar to the Australian organism.

Researchers in Western Australia needed to know how widespread the infection was in the state’s frog populations. So Aplin sent an ‘F-file’ (frog fungus facts) alert to Frogwatch members, requesting their help. He asked them to deliver him dead or dying frogs. More than 2,000 frogs have now been examined, half from the museum’s existing collection. Aplin once thought the fungus had arrived in Western Australia in only the past year or two, but tests now suggest it has been there since the late 1980s.

Frogwatch has proved to be Abe perfect link to the public and Aplin has become a total convert to community participation. He’s now aiming for a network of 15,000 Frogwatch members as the museum can’t afford to use professional resources to monitor frog populations. Much of the frog habitat is on private land, and without community support, monitoring the frogs would be impossible.

Not everyone is convinced by the ‘feelgood' popularity of Frogwatch. While Aplin believes even tiny backyard ponds can help to significantly improve frog numbers, Dr. Dale Roberts isn’t so sure, A senior zoology lecturer at the University of WA, Roberts agrees the program has: tapped into the public’s enthusiasm for frogs, but he warns that strong public awareness does not amount to sound science.

He argues that getting the public to send in pages of observations is a good thing, but giving these reports credibility may not be valid scientifically. In addition, he’s not convinced that Frogwatch’s alarmist message about the danger of fungal infection is valid either. In Western Australia, for example, there was a long summer and very, late drenching rains, that year, following two equally dry years. So, he argues, there are other things that might have precipitated the deaths. He questions what could be done about it anyway. If it’s already widespread, it may not be worth the cost and effort of doing anything about it. Even if it’s causing high death rates, he says he can still find every frog species found over the past ten years in the south-west of Australia.

Roberts argues that Western Australia is different. Unlike most other states, species are still being discovered there; the disappearances of frog types in Queensland and New South Wales, are not occurring in Western Australia, although three south-west species are on the endangered list. Roberts believes that no amount of garden ponds in Perth will help those species, which live in isolated habitats targeted for development.

Aplin’s response is that increasing the number of frog-friendly habitats is important for the very reason that many Western Australian frog species are found in small, highly restricted locations. He argues that pesticide-free gardens and ponds can offer a greater chance of survival to animals battling habitat disturbance, environmental pollutants, climatic variations, and now fungal disease. Aplin’s opinion is that they should use the precautionary principle in cases where they don’t yet know enough about the situation. Usually diseases sort themselves out naturally and some frog fauna will co-evolve with the fungus. Given time some balance may be restored, but in the shorter term, they are seeing negative impacts.

The nationwide spread of the chytrid fungus is being mapped by Dr. Rick Speare, a specialist in amphibian disease at James Cook University. Speare also tests the accuracy of' Aplin’s fungus diagnoses and says Frogwatch is ‘an amazing and under-acknowledged system ... the best program in Australia for harnessing public interest in frog biology... There are a lot of eyes out there looking for dead or sick frogs, beyond the power of any biologist to collect.’

Aplin argues that they should never underestimate the importance of' having a community base, especially when governments want to cut research funds, ‘People can protest in ways that a handful of scientists hiding in a laboratory can’t do. For just about every environmental problem, community involvement is fundamental.’ Furthermore, Frogwatch is proving to be a social phenomenon as much as anything else. It seems ordinary people know that frogs are a measure of the environment’s health.

Section 2

Solution With Explanation

Questions 1-6

Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer of the passage?
Write:

YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

Question 1. Frogwatch members need a basic level of scientific training.

Answer: No
Supporting Sentence: Through such a network, ordinary untrained members of the community could learn about frog habitats, observe the numbers and kinds of frogs in their local area, and report this information to the
museum.
Keywords: ordinary untrained members, Frogwatch members
Keyword Location: 5 -8 line of paragraph 1st.
Explanation: According to paragraph 1, common, uneducated community people could learn about frog habitats. They might count and identify the different species of frogs in their neighbourhood and inform the museum of this information. Members of Frogwatch don't require a foundational understanding of science. Thus, the answer is no.

Question 2. All Frogwatch members live in Western Australia.

Answer: Not Given
Supporting Sentence: Frogwatch, a remarkable success story started in Western Australia, is the brainchild of Dr. Ken Aplin
Keywords: Frogwatch, Western Australia
Keyword Location: 1-2 line of paragraph 1^st
Explanation:The relevant information regarding the statement is not given in the passage.

Question 3. Frogwatch has proved that frogs are disappearing because of a fungus.

Answer: No
Supporting Sentence: Frogwatch membership increased dramatically when a mysterious parasitic fungus disease began attacking frogs nationwide. Although research is yet incomplete,scientists suspect the fungus originated overseas, perhaps in South America, where frogs have died in catastrophic numbers from a fungus disease genetically similar to the Australian organism.
Keywords: Frogwatch, a fungus
Keyword Location: 4-9 lines of paragraph 2^nd
Explanation: As per paragraph 2, when a strange parasitic fungus disease started killing off frogs state-wide, Frogwatch membership surged. The fungus's suspected origins are abroad, possibly in South America. Frog deaths there have been catastrophic due to a fungus disease that is genetically related to the Australian organism. Frogs started getting sick nationwide from a fungus. Then, where there have been massive frog deaths, is where scientists think the disease first emerged. However, this is simply a hunch, and the research is not yet complete. Hence, the answer is no.

Question 4.Scientists in WA have examined about two thousand frogs collected by Frogwatch.

Answer: No
Supporting Sentence: More than 2,000 frogs have now been examined, half from the museum’s existing collection.
Keywords: 2,000 frogs
Keyword Location: 4-5 of paragraph 3^rd
Explanation:More than 2,000 frogs have reportedly been studied thus far, half of which came from the museum's current stock, according to paragraph 3. About 1,000 frogs were gathered by Frogwatch. Thus, the answer is no.

Question 5. The frog fungus disease has been in Western Australia for more than ten years.

Answer: Yes
Supporting Sentence: Aplin once thought the fungus had arrived in Western Australia in only the past year or two, but tests now suggest it has been there since the late 1980s.
Keywords: fungus Disease, Western Australia, more than ten years, the late 1980s.
Keyword Location: 5-8 lines of paragraph 3^rd
Explanation: As per paragraph 3, Aplin formerly believed that the fungus had only recently entered Western Australia. Tests have since revealed that it has been present since the late 1980s, nevertheless. More than ten years have passed since the disease first appeared in Western Australia. Therefore, the answer is yes.

Question 6. New species of frogs have been found in Western Australia recently.

Answer: Yes
Supporting Sentence: Roberts argues that Western Australia is different. Unlike most other states, species are still being discovered there
Keywords: New species, found in Western Australia, species, discovered
Keyword Location: 1-5 lines of paragraph 7^th
Explanation: According to paragraph 7, Roberts contends that Western Australia is unique. There are still new species being found, unlike most other states. Therefore, since new species are continually being discovered in Western Australia, we might draw the conclusion that it is different. So, the right answer is yes.

Questions 7-12

The reading passage describes the opinions of Dr, Ken Aplin, Dr. Dale Roberts and Dr. Rick Speare in relation to strategies for frog conservation.
Match one of the researchers A-C to each of the statements below.

There may be more than one correct answer.
Write:

A - for Dr. Aplin
B - for Dr. Roberts
C - for Dr. Speare

Question 7. Although the involvement of large numbers of people is encouraging, this does not guarantee scientifically valid data.

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: Dr. Dale Roberts isn’t so sure, A senior zoology lecturer at the University of WA, Roberts agrees the program has: tapped into the public’s enthusiasm for frogs, but he warns that strong public
awareness does not amount to sound science… He argues that getting the public to send in pages of observations is a good thing, but giving these reports credibility may not be valid scientifically.
Keywords: involvement of large numbers of people, does not guarantee scientifically valid data.
Keyword Location: 3-6 lines of paragraph 5^th
Explanation:Roberts concurs that the programme capitalised on the public's enthusiasm for frogs, according to paragraph 5. He does, however, issue a warning that widespread public awareness does not equate to sound science. He contends that while seeking pages of data from the public is a positive thing, giving these reports credibility may not be fair scientifically. Hence, the answer is B.

Question 8. The development of frog-friendly backyards will help to conserve frog species.

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: Not everyone is convinced by the ‘feelgood' popularity of Frogwatch. While Aplin believes even tiny backyard ponds can help to significantly improve frog numbers
Keywords: frog-friendly backyards, conserve frog species.
Keyword Location: 1-3 lines of paragraph 5^th
Explanation: Not everyone is won over by Frogwatch's "feel-good" popularity, according to paragraph 5. Aplin contends that frog populations can be considerably increased by even small backyard ponds. Aplin thinks that a considerable increase in frog populations can be achieved with small backyards. From there, we can deduce that Dr. Aplin is the source of the statement.

Question 9. Although it is possible that frogs will adapt to fungal and other problems in the long term, we should take precautions in case this does not occur.

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: Aplin’s opinion is that they should use the precautionary principle in cases where they don’t yet know enough about the situation. Usually diseases sort themselves out naturally and some frog fauna will co-evolve with the fungus. Given time some balance may be restored, but in the shorter term, they are seeing negative impacts.
Keywords: precautionary, fungus
Keyword Location: 6-10 lines of paragraph 8^th
Explanation: The precautionary principle should be applied when there is insufficient information, as per paragraph 8 which states Aplin's opinion. The majority of the time, infections resolve themselves naturally, and certain frog species will co-evolve with the fungus. They are experiencing negative effects now, but over time there may be some restoration of equilibrium. The content in these paragraphs is all related to Dr. Aplin, as may be seen after a cursory reading.

Question 10. As there may be many other explanations for recent frog deaths, it is not worth spending a great deal of time and money studying this fungus.

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: he argues, there are other things that might have precipitated the deaths. He questions what could be done about it anyway. If it’s already widespread, it may not be worth the cost and effort of doing anything about it.
Keywords: deaths, the cost and effort
Keyword Location: 6-9th line of paragraph 6^th
Explanation: Robert makes the claim that there are additional factors that could have caused the fatalities in paragraph 6. What might possibly be done about it, he wonders. If it's already pervasive, it might not be worth the money and time to take action. The research of the fungus sickness, according to Dr. Roberts, would be a waste of time and resources. Because the deaths of frogs could result from a variety of other causes.

Question 11. Because of the unique geography of Western Australia,most frog species in this State are not in danger of extinction.

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: Roberts argues that Western Australia is different. Unlike most other states, species are still being discovered there; the disappearances of frog types in Queensland and New South Wales, are not
occurring in Western Australia, although three south-west species are on the endangered list.
Keywords: Western Australia is different, not occurring in Western Australia
Keyword Location: 1-6th line of paragraph 7^th
Explanation:Roberts makes the case that Western Australia is unique in paragraph 7. There are still new species being found, unlike most other states. Frog kinds are not disappearing in Western Australia the way they have in Queensland and New South Wales. Despite the fact that three south-western species are listed as endangered. From this, we can conclude that B is the right answer.

Question 12. Frogwatch has greater potential for frog observation than is possible by the scientific community.

Answer: A/C
Supporting Sentence: Speare also tests the accuracy of Aplin's fungus diagnoses and says Frogwatch is ‘an amazing and under-acknowledged system... the best program in Australia for harnessing public interest in frog biology.
Keywords: Frogwatch, public interest in frog biology
Keyword Location: 3-5th line of paragraph 9^th
Explanation:According to paragraph 9, Speare also evaluates the precision of Aplin's fungus diagnosis. He calls Frogwatch "an incredible and underappreciated system." The best programme in Australia for piquing public curiosity about frog biology is this one. Thus the answer either could be A or C.

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