07/27/09

Good news for The Mountain Yellow-legged Frog

I’ve been reading some pretty gloomy stories lately about the worldwide amphibian decline, but I’ve also read a surprising number of hopeful stories as well.  Here’s one Susan passed along to me:

A population of a rare, almost extinct western frog, the Mountain Yellow-legged Frog (Rana mucosa) has been found in the San Jacinto Wildnerness in Southern California. Until last month researchers had estimated only 122 adult Mountain Yellow-legged Frogs remained in the wild. This species was once widespread, but declined over the years when non-native trout were added to recreational fishing waters, disturbing local ecosystems. Tadpoles often become prey to non-native fish such as trout. 

Biologists from the U.S. Geological Survey and the San Diego Natural History Museum made the discovery. Reading this article from the Environmental News Service, I realize how many zoos, state, local, and federal government agencies need to be involved and motivated to save an endangered species.  The San Diego Zoo, for example, has a program is to breed mountain yellow-legged frogs in captivity and return them to their native habitat. 

Kudos to all biologists, museums and zoos, and government agencies involved in this effort!

Courtesy of U.S. Geological Servey
Courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey
To learn more about this, I recommend watching the PBS Nature special The Thin Green Line. (You can watch it online.)  This absorbing documentary is about all aspects of the amphibian decline, but includes a segment on the Mountain Yellow-legged Frog in Yosemite.  Check out The Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog site as well.
07/7/09

Inmates Help Oregon Spotted Frogs

I was intrigued by this article in The Seattle Times yesterday about a program at the Cedar Creek Corrections Center (Washington state) where inmates are raising Oregon spotted frogs, an endangered species, in the prison. The inmates have stunned researchers because they have been more successful raising these frogs than the local zoos. They are taking care of the frogs under the auspices of the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife and nearby Evergreen State College (my nephew’s alma mater).

The inmates started with 80 Oregon spotted frog eggs in early April. As the eggs grew into tadpoles, then into frogs, they have been responsible for the frequent feedings and tank-water changes, and also for taking detailed notes for state researchers. One thousand frogs are estimated to be released into the wild this fall, which will help this struggling species.

Here’s more information about the Oregon Spotted frog from Herpetology Northwest. If you click on the photo below, you can hear the frog’s call.

Oregon Spotted Frog, copyright 1996, by William Leonard, AmphibiaWeb

Oregon Spotted Frog, copyright 1996, by William Leonard, AmphibiaWeb

05/25/09

Be a FrogWatcher this summer!

This summer, consider becoming a FrogWatch USA volunteer, a Citizen Science Monitoring Program sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation. Participating in this program gives YOU the opportunity to help frogs and toads by collecting information essential for protecting them.

The FrogWatch site has a map of the US that lists local frog species. It also contains information about ordering CDs with frog calls from your region, lists of books to help you identify frog species, and all you need to know to become a successful Frog Watcher. If you’ve always wanted to do animal conservation fieldwork, here’s your chance to do it in your own neighborhood—maybe even your own backyard!

This summer I’ve been doing some informal Frog Watching with my family. We counted 17 small toads on one hike in the Norvin Green State Forest in New Jersey. We also went on a hike in Minnewaska State Park near New Paltz, New York, last weekend. At the nature center there, I picked up a pamphlet about frogs and toads of New York, where I learned that the hearty trilling I heard up in a pine tree wasn’t an invisible bird. It was a tiny Grey Tree Frog with a big voice! We also saw lots of tadpoles in a pond in various stages of metamorphosis.

Wherever you are this summer, keep an eye out for the amphibians!

Gray treefrog clinging to clover. Photographed by Lisa Miller at her home in northeastern Wisconsin. Courtesy of savethefrogs.com

Gray treefrog clinging to clover. Photographed by Lisa Miller at her home in northeastern Wisconsin. Courtesy of www.savethefrogs.com