Spring Peeper, Green Frog, and Wood Frog Management at Neithercut Woodland

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Spring Peeper, Green Frog, and Wood Frog
Management at Neithercut Woodland

• Clay Wilton, Randi Brown, Traci Goldsworthy

2
Area of Concern

• Neithercut Woodland in Clare County
• Owned and maintained by Central Michigan
  University
• Currently encompasses 252 acres of diverse
  habitats
• Originally owned by Josiah L. Littlefield in the
  early 1900s
• A variety of vegetation, soil, and animals occupy
  this property

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Spring Peeper Pseudacris cruciferFamily
Hylidae

• Distinguishing Characteristics
• Characterized by a distinct brown X pattern on
  a light brown or tan body
• 3.5 cm long
• Voice reminiscent of a clear, high-pitched rising
  peep sounded about once per second
• Males are slightly smaller than females and have
  darker throats
• Nocturnal
• Hide in leaf litter, but are also good climbers

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Breeding Behavior

• One of the first frogs to be heard in spring
• Choruses can be heard from late March or early
  April through May
• Sexual maturity is typically reached around two
  years of age (Trenham et al. 2003)
• Use ephemeral or permanent wetlands
• Females lay between 750 1,200 eggs
• deposited individually
• attached to sticks and aquatic vegetation
• eggs typically hatch within several days after
  being laid
• Larvae metamorphose in approximately two to three
  months and leave the pond for the adult stage of
  their life cycle.

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Habitat and Food

• Michigans most abundant singing frog
• Found throughout the state
• Inhabits deciduous and mixed woodlands, swamps,
  and marshes
• Burrow in the soil and use fallen trees and logs
  for cover
• Persist at higher elevations, less acidic soils,
  less evergreen forest, less cultivated land, and
  less open water (Gibbs et al. 2005).
• Hibernate under logs and loose bark
• Adult prey includes small insects spiders,
  ants, water bugs
• Tadpoles feed on algae and detritus

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Range

• Spring peepers are believed to be one of the
  initial herpetological colonizers of eastern
  North America following the latest period of
  glaciation (Austin et al. 2002).
• Found throughout the majority of eastern North
  America, from Nova Scotia west to eastern
  Manitoba, and south to Texas and the Carolinas.
• Relatively common species throughout the Great
  Lakes

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Wood Frog - Rana sylvaticaFamily Ranidae

• Appearance
• Rusty brown and tan
• Yellow to light green under parts
• Black striped patch mask
• White stripe on upper lip
• Dark spots on each side of chest by the foreleg
• Average size 3.5 to 8 cm
• Females
• much larger than males
• more brightly colored

• http//163.238.8.180/fburbrink/Field20Work/Midwe
  st/

• http//www.britannica.com/eb/art/print?id8032art
  icleTypeId1

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Wood Frog Reproduction

• Breeding occurs very early in spring, often when
  ice is still on ponds.
• Most active during warmer, damp evenings after
  the first spring rain in temporary ponds
• Males attracted to larger females just as females
  attracted to larger males
• Male calls - quack like projection
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vF8vlf4sdLmY
• Eggs deposited in floating rounded communal
  masses on water surface
• Breeding frogs only remain in the pond for 1-2
  days

• http//www.uri.edu/cels/nrs/paton/LH_wood_frog.htm
  l

• http//www.marietta.edu/biol/biomes/wetlands.htm

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Larva and Juveniles

• Larva
• Emerge from eggs in 1-2 weeks
• If area dries too quickly, survival is
  often lost
• Brown to gray dorsal side, brown to copper sides,
  and light ventrally
• Feed on algae, plant tissue, small aquatic
  organisms, and organic matter
• Juveniles
• Feed on a variety of insects small
  invertebrates such as spiders, slugs, and snails
• Sexual maturation generally 1-2 years

• http//www.umaine.edu/wetlands/VPwoodfrog2.htm

http//www.nae.usace.army.mil/recreati/uvd/UVD_amp
hibians/uvdwoodfrog.html
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Habitat of Wood Frog

• Wood frog prefers
• Wet woodlands
• Wooded swamps
• Bogs
• Can be found wondering into fields
• Tend to stay in same 100 sq meters throughout
  lifetime, staying in same pond or wetland area
  especially after breeding first occurs
• By late fall typically travel upland for winter
• Hide in or under logs, leaf litter, and humus.

• http//www.eitangrunwald.com/NJ/NJp1.htm

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Range of the Wood Frog

• North of Arctic Circle in Alaska, across Canada,
  through NE U. S.
• Some in northern Georgia central Alabama
• Spotty distribution in Colorado Rocky Mountains
• Considered only frogs to be found north of Arctic
  Circle
• Survive freezing 45 body in the winter
• Specialized proteins glucose prevent
  intercellular freezing and dehydration

http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_frog
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Green Frog Rana clamitansFamily Ranidae

• There are several color variations of the green
  frog
• green, yellowish green, olive, or brown, and in
  some rare instances they can be blue
• Male and females also differ
• Males Very bright yellow throat and tympanum
  larger than eye
• Females white, light yellow, or cream colored
  throat, mottled gray and black, tympanum smaller
  than eye
• Other distinguishing characteristics
• Dark cross bands on hind legs
• Ridge of skin from each eye curving behind
  tympanum and extending one-half to two-thirds of
  the way down their back

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R. clamitans Hibernation Reproduction

• Start to emerge from hibernation during the end
  of March thru April
• Breeding begins in May thru early August
• Females produce 1-2 clutches each year
• 1,000 4,000 eggs per clutch
• Reproduction occurs in shallow backwaters
• Male breeding call commonly heard during spring
• A brief clung reminiscent of a loose banjo
  string
• Will be given singly or several times in a row
• A low growl connected to territoriality
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vG0uGjsM_gh4
• Begin to enter hibernation again toward the end
  of October thru mid-November

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Green Frog Habitat

• Green frogs are found in very diverse bodies of
  water
• Habitat generalists
• Ponds, lakes, swamps, sloughs, impoundments, and
  slow streams
• Adults prefer deeper pools with less vegetation,
  and migrate beyond banks at night to forage
• Subadults prefer shallower pools with dense
  vegetation, and forage on nearby banks
• Dependent also on terrestrial habitat
• Predation
• Sit-and-wait predators

Blue version of a male green frog
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Range of the Green Frog

• Can be found in Maine and the Canadian Maritime
  provinces west throughout the Great Lakes region
  to western Ontario, south to Oklahoma and
  northern Arkansas, and east through Tennessee and
  northern Georgia to coastal North Carolina and
  northward (Harding 1997).

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Management Considerations

• Three critical factors for wetland-breeding
  frogs
• density of individuals that are dispersing from
  each wetland
• species richness dependent on diversity of
  wetlands
• probability of dispersal or re-colonization to
  adjacent wetlands
• Wetland factors
• size, pond isolation, pond hydroperiod, timing of
  wetland drawdown, and individual life-history
  requirements (Paton and Crouch 2002) are
  imperative for wetland-breeding frog management.
  

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Management Considerations

• Invasive Species
• Predatory fish consume both larvae and adult
  frogs
• Bull frogs risk of competition and predation on
  all life stages
• Invasive Plants out compete native vegetation
  creating dense monocultures
• Typha spp. and Phragmites spp.

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Management Considerations

• Environmental contaminants and toxicants
• Using herbicides to kill invasive plants could
  possibly have adverse effects on local amphibian
  populations.
• In a lab study on juvenile amphibians, Roundup
  killed 68-86 of individuals after one day
  (Relyea 2005).
• In natural systems??
• Exposure to pesticides could directly reduce the
  abundance of prey species.
• Community impacts of herbicides and pesticides
  make consistent monitoring of water quality and
  invertebrate community composition a crucial
  consideration for the successful management of
  anurans in Neithercut.

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Management Considerations

• Habitat Structure
• Population Disappearance
• urban development
• high intensity agriculture
• acid deposition
• Population Persistence
• deciduous/mixed forest
• less evergreen forest
• less open water

• Population Fluxes
• High local extinction rates
• require re-colonization from surrounding
  populations
• need greater densities of nearby wetlands
• consideration of landscape connectivity between
  wetlands and adjacent land is imperative

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Management Goals and Objectives

• Create maintain wetland habitat
• Create corridors connecting hospitable wetland
  habitats.
• Maintain critical breeding habitat for the wood
  frog
• creating and conserving vernal pools
• Monitor hydroperiods for reproductive success for
  both the spring peeper and green frog
• Implement management of suitable habitat on a
  large spatial scale to sustain dispersal and
  re-colonization from local subpopulations

• http//www.41south-aquaculture.com/wetland.html

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Management Goals and Objectives

• Control chemical pollution
• Eliminate application of herbicides and
  pesticides
• Monitor native non-native species
• Bi-yearly monitoring of terrestrial/aquatic
  wetland and stream macroinvertebrates for species
  richness and diversity
• Manage wetlands for invasive fish and plants
• avoid the unwanted introduction of a species that
  could decimate breeding

• http//chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/spring2007/
  water.html

• http//www.dnr.mo.gov/env/taumsauk/testing.htm

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Management Goals and Objectives

• Maintain terrestrial habitat
• Abundant deciduous/mixed forest cover
• Restrict invasion of dominant conifer species
• Prevent habitat disturbances
• Prevent installation of permanent dams upstream
  and downstream of wetlands
• maintain stable water levels for wetland breeding
  habitat
• Limit use of motorized vehicles in Neithercut
• Encourage private property owners to contribute
  their land in the form of a conservation easement

• http//www.cha-llp.com/go/project/wetland-delineat
  ion-habitat-study

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Management Recommendations

• Main Goal
• Increasing wetland breeding habitat throughout
  Neithercut in order to reduce local extinction
  rates and increase population success of these
  three amphibians
• Recommendations
• 1. Create corridors connecting hospitable
  wetlands for these three species.
• Most amphibians cannot migrate more than 200-300
  meters
• Corridors can be preserved by not clear cutting
  areas between wetlands and by avoiding
  deforestation

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Management Recommendations Cont.

• 2. Create and maintain breeding habitat through
  hydroperiods and vernal pools
• There are two types of hydroperiods
• Breeding Hydroperiods the number of days when
  amphibians are actively breeding or larvae are
  developing in inundated wetlands
• Pond Hydroperiods the number of days a pond is
  inundated with surface water
• Amphibians tend to inhabit areas with
  intermediate hydroperiods
• Various hydroperiods should persist for 4-9
  months
• Hydroperiods too long in duration can cause an
  increase in predators
• 3. Decrease chemicals in order to increase
  species overall fitness
• Freshwater environments are an ultimate sink for
  chemicals
• Pesticides and herbicides shouldnt be used
  within 100 yards of wetlands because of their
  slow decomposition

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Management Recommendations Cont.

• 4. Managing and monitoring both native and
  potentially harmful non-native species.
• Harmful species can be in the form of insects,
  fish, mammals, birds, and vegetation
• Fish are one of the largest threats to
  amphibians both as predators and competitors
• Fish presence will be monitored through
  electroshocking in order to manage for
  invasive/unwanted species
• Invasive vegetation such as cat tails (Typha
  spp.) outcompete beneficial native vegetation and
  therefore will need to be managed
• 5. Maintain and create terrestrial habitat for
  all three species
• Corse woody debris serve as source of cover
  during winter months and serve as adequate cover
  for prey
• All fallen debris should be left untouched
• Upland mixed/hardwood forests are utilized by
  these amphibians for foraging
• All deforestation and clear cutting will be
  avoided as much as possible

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Neithercut Habitat Quality

• Good overall habitat quality
• good sources of wetlands dispersed throughout the
  property with higher lands for post breeding
  seasons and hibernating periods (Trenham and
  Shaffer 2005).
• Several areas also have potential for temporary
  wetlands in the spring.
• Elm Creek provides flooding areas of different
  levels for the various needs of the different
  species.
• A healthy hardwood habitat provides necessary
  shade, hospitable surface temperatures, soil
  structure, and adequate soil moisture that

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Figure 12. Landcover and wetland classification
for Neithercut Woodland, Clare County, MI.
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Evaluation Techniques and Monitoring

• Juvenile and adult counts Pit fall silt fences
• During peak breeding activity periods for each
  species
• Completely around wetland areas to monitor the
  amount of adults that enter the breeding pool and
  to see how many juveniles leave the wetland to
• Whenever pit fall fences are used, daily visits
  are mandatory to count frogs and release them
  back to the other side of the fence.
• Call surveys
• Surveys will be conducted once a week during
  breeding periods
• Egg masses
• Surveyed over a three week period according to
  each frogs breeding time

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Evaluation Techniques and Monitoring

• Water Quality
• pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and
  conductivity
• Changes in water level
• Erosion and sedimentation
• Environmental toxicants
• Macroinvertebrate surveys (sediments and
  wetlands)
• Turnover and extinction rates
• Extinction dividing the number of ponds where
  local extinctions were observed by the number of
  ponds that were occupied the following year.
• Colonization rates dividing the number of newly
  occupied ponds by the number of occupied ponds
  from the previous year.

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Timeline

• Year One
• Spring 2008
• Frog counts through breeding call surveys and
  pitfalls
• Begin water quality and soil testing
• Create buffer zones around wetlands
• Begin planning process
• Begin all baseline monitoring of invasive
  predators and available prey species
• Fall 2008
• Continue assessment
• Begin creating corridors
• Control for invasive species

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Timeline (Continued)

• Year Two
• Spring 2009
• Maintain terrestrial habitats
• Monitor hydroperiods
• Monitor for the presence of chemicals
• Species Count
• Continue monitoring invasive predators and
  available prey species
• Fall 2009
• Monitor corridors for disruptions
• Correct any corridor disruptions
• Fall 2009
• Maintain and monitor achievements from Fall 2008
•  Year Three Year Five
• Spring 2010 Fall 2012 continue tasks as done in
  previous seasons.

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Budget
Neithercut Management Budget Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year4 Year 5
         
Equipment Needed Our Cost Our Cost Our Cost Our Cost Our Cost
Hydrolab Quanta Transmitter, SST 3,395.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Hannd 3814 Ecological Test Kit 162.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
BOD Sampler 76.45 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
BOD Bottles 19.95 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Turbidity Sensor 935.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Runoff Sampler 4,470.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
GPS, eTREX, Garmin 119.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
AquaCalc 5000 Open Channel Computer 1,850.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Staff Gauges 32.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Hydra Probe II Soil Probe 361.50 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Complete Soil Test Kit 47.00 0.00 45.00/refill 0.00 0.00
Dip Nets (3) 20.00 ea. 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Chest Waiters (3 Pairs) 51.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Maintinence On Equipment 1,000.00 1,000.00 1,000.00 1,000.00 1,000.00
Travel Expenses 2,500.00 2,500.00 2,500.00 2,500.00 2,500.00
Exotic Species Extermination Will Be Based On Species
LR 20 Electrofisher 6,700.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Frog Calls  Donated Donated Donated Donated Donated
Silt Fence 25.00/30.5 m 25.00/30.5 m 25.00/30.5 m 25.00/30.5 m 25.00/30.5 m
Pit Fall Cans 0.00  0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
           
Total 21,778.90 3,500.00 3,545.00 3,500.00 3,500.00
Total for Entire Project 35,823.90        

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