Year Of the Frog

1. Year Of the Frog

2. What Is an Amphibian? • Vertebrate • Animal with a backbone • Cold-Blooded • Use their surroundings to warm up or cool down • Amphibian = 2 Lives • 1st in the water--breathing with gills • Lay eggs→hatch→metamorphose • 2nd on land--breathing with lungs

3. What is an Amphibian? • Frogs and Toads • Newts and Salamanders

4. Where do Frogs Live? • Rivers and streams • Lakes, ponds and marshes • Grasslands • Forests

5. Global Amphibian Distribution • 6,307 species of amphibians world-wide

6. 63 species of amphibians in Texas 42 species of frogs and toads 4 species threatened 1 species endangered 1 extirpated About 30 species of salamanders 6 species threatened 2 species endangered Frogs in Texas

7. Smooth or slimy skin Strong long legs with webbed feet for jumping and leaping Lay eggs in clusters A Group of frogs is called An ARMY of frogs Warty and dry skin Stubby bodies with short hind legs for hopping Lay eggs in chains A Group of toads is called A KNOT of toads Frogs vs. Toads

8. What do Frogs Eat? • Frogs are Carnivores • Carnivores eat other animals • Frogs eat • Insects • Snails • Spiders • Worms • Small fish • Other small aquatic and terrestrial animals

9. Life Cycle Lay Eggs Adult Tadpoles Metamorphs

10. Respiration • Frogs can breath through their skin That’s why their skin needs to be moist!!

11. Why are they Important? • An important part of the Ecosystem • They eat insects and other small animals and other animals eat them • Provide Benefits to Humans • Source of Medicine • Control insects and insect-borne diseases • Indicators of Environmental Health • Permeable skin can absorb and concentrate toxins making them sensitive to environmental changes • Role in Culture and Religion

12. What’s Happening to Frogs? • 32% of the world’s amphibian species are threatened with extinction. • Up to 122 species may have gone extinct since 1980. • At least 43% of all species are declining in population size.

13. Why?

14. Habitat Loss • Ponds and wetlands are being filled in to use the land for other purposes • Rainforests are being cut down to create land for farming and ranching • Habitat is being destroyed to build roads and buildings

15. Habitat Fragmentation • Habitat fragmentation is the breaking apart of habitat in smaller pieces. • Once they leave their pond, frogs and toads may travel across land to many different habitats to eat or hibernate. • However, if a large road or a town is built, then the frogs may not be able to travel back to a pond to lay their eggs. • No eggs→no new frogs!

16. Pollution • Rain can wash chemicals and pollutants into streams, ponds, rivers and lakes. • The chemicals don’t only pollute the water but also seep into a frog’s skin. • These chemicals can affect tadpole development and behavior, development of male frogs, and the number of tadpoles produced.

17. Disease • Chytrid Fungus • A fungus that is believed to slowly suffocate frogs by attacking the skin through which they breathe • The chytrid fungus is spreading rapidly and affecting amphibians worldwide. • Malformations • Frogs that have extra or missing limbs • Caused by… • Genetics • Parasite disruption of limb formation • Chemical contamination • Viruses • Ultraviolet radiation • Physical trauma (from predators or people) American bullfrog found in San Marcos River

18. Climate Change • Climate change is a big buzz in our society today. But how will it really affect frogs? • It can change the amount and timing of rain events • If rains don’t come at the right time, then frogs might not be able to breed • It can change temperatures • Temperature changes can also affect breeding and development of young • The golden toad in Costa Rica is thought to have become extinct because of climate change

19. What can You do? • Watch out for frogs! • Become familiar with frogs in your area • Use pesticides carefully and sparingly • Create frog habitat in your yard • Keep cats and dogs away from amphibians • Be wise in your use of water and fossil fuels so that amphibians and the rest of us will have good habitats in the future!

20. Get Involved!! Participate in a Leap Year activity at a local zoo or aquarium. www.aza.org/Promotions/LeapDay_TX/ Participate in the National Wildlife Federation’s “Record the Ribbit” on May 3. www.nwf.org/ribbit Contact Texas Parks and Wildlife to become a citizen scientist through Texas Amphibian Watch. You can become an Amphibian Spotter You can Adopt-a-Frog Pond Listen to frogs at night Check for frogs with malformations www.tpwd.state.tx.us/amphibians/ What else can YOU do?

21. Sources A Thousand Friends of Frogs

22. Image Acknowledgements • Slide 1 • Clockwise from left top corner: • Horned Marsupial Frog - Tania Boniske • Magnificent Tree Frog - Kevin Johnson • Dendrobates tinctorius - Richard Gibson • Strawberry Poison Frog - Joe Milmoe • Dyeing Poison Arrow Frog - Gerry Marantelli • Lemur Leaf Frog - Ron Holt • Red-eyed Tree Frog - Ron Holt • Cacao Robber Frog - Miravilis Swarovsky • Grainy Cochran Frog - Ron Holt • Dainty TreeFrog - Lydia Fucsko • Slide 2 • Morrocan Toad - Kevin Johnson • Tigar Salamander - Hoberg • Two-toned Poison Frog - Joe Milmoe • Slide 3 • Newt – Amphibian Ark • others – Herps of Texas • http://www.zo.utexas.edu/research/txherps/ • Slide 4 • River, Prairie and pond – TPWD • Forest – Amphibian Ark • Marsh – Texas Coastal Wetlands • Slide 5 • www.GlobalAmphibians.org • Slide 6 • Herps of Texas • Slide 7 • Green and Golden Bell Frog - Lydia Fucsko • Common Toad - Richard Gibson • Common Frog spawn - Aleksander Niwelinski • Common Toad spawn - Eugene Bruins • Slide 8 • Frog eating spider – Amphibian Ark • Little Water Frog Eating a bird - Aleksander Niwelinski • Slide 9 (order they appear) • Common Toad - Richard Gibson • Common Toad - Eugene Bruins • Red-eyed Tree Frog, eggs - Ron Holt • Common Toad, Tadpoles - Aleksander Niwelinski • Southern Brown Tree Frog tadpoles, feeding - Lydia Fucsko • Marbled Treefrog, Larvae - Ron Holt • Slide 10 • www.thefrog.org • Slide 11 • Amphibian Ark • Slide 12 • Panamanian Golden Frog – GerryMarantelli • Red-eyed Tree Frog - Ron Holt • La Palma Glass Frog - Ron Holt • Dainty TreeFrog - Lydia Fucsko • Cane Toad - Lydia Fucsko • Amphibian Ark • Two-toned Poison Frog - Richard Gibson • European Tree Frog - Richard Gibson • Slide 13 • San Jose Cochran Frog - Ron Holt • Panama Golden Frogs – Paul Crump • Panamanian Golden Frog - Ron Gagliardo • Eleutherodactylus museosus - Brad Wilson • Crucifix Toad - Taronga Zoo • Hourglass Treefrog - Ron Holt • Asian Common Toad - Richard Gibson • Morrocan Toad - Kevin Johnson • Strawberry Poison Frog - Joe Milmoe • Banded Horned Tree Frog - Ron Holt • Slide 14 • Amphibian Ark • Slide 16 • TPWD • Slide 17 • Top pictures – A Thousand Friends of Frogs • Lower picture – Melba Sexton • Slide 17 • Top pictures – Herps of Texas • Bottom picture – Charles Smith, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service • Slide 18 • Strawberry Poison Frog - John Clarke • Asian Common Toad - Richard Gibson • Slide 19 • TPWD

23. Useful Links • www.tpwd.state.tx.us/leapyear/ • www.tpwd.state.tx.us/amphibians/ • www.amphibianark.org • www.globalamphibians.org • cgee.hamline.edu/frogs/ • www.aza.org/YearoftheFrog/ • www.exploratorium.edu

24. Presentation designed by Heather Cardella Dammeyer