Year

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Year Of the Frog
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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

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What is an Amphibian?

• Frogs and Toads
• Newts and Salamanders

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Where do Frogs Live?

• Rivers and streams
• Lakes, ponds and marshes
• Grasslands
• Forests

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Global Amphibian Distribution

• 6,307 species of amphibians world-wide

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Frogs in Texas

• 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

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Frogs vs. Toads

• 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

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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

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Life Cycle
Lay Eggs
Adult
Tadpoles
Metamorphs
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Respiration

• Frogs can breath through their skin
• Thats why their skin needs to be moist!!

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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

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Whats Happening to Frogs?

• 32 of the worlds 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.

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Why?
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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

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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!

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Pollution

• Rain can wash chemicals and pollutants into
  streams, ponds, rivers and lakes.
• The chemicals dont only pollute the water but
  also seep into a frogs skin.
• These chemicals can affect tadpole development
  and behavior, development of male frogs, and the
  number of tadpoles produced.

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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
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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 dont 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

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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!

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What else can YOU do?

• 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 Federations
  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/

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Sources
A Thousand Friends of Frogs
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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

• 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

• 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

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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

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Presentation designed by Heather Cardella Dammeyer