Frog Marathon
JB: This is Earth and Sky. When male Florida gopher frogs are trying to attract female partners, their calls sound like people snoring. But the sound of snoring from ponds isn’t heard as much anymore – because gopher frogs are in decline.
DB: And the reason, of course, is loss of habitat. Florida gopher frogs live in dry, wooded areas through most of the state. For most of the year, they spend the day resting in the moist burrows of gopher tortoises, who don’t seem to mind the company. But when the rains come, it’s breeding season – and the frogs go on the move. First, they hop to ponds and isolated wetlands at lower elevations – as much as several kilometers away. A successful mating results in globs of jelly-like eggs. Later, as the tadpoles develop, the adults hop all the way back to where they started.
JB: Gopher frogs need large swaths of protected land to be able to reproduce. But development threatens both ends of their migration. Buildings, citrus groves, and agricultural fields have displaced populations of gopher tortoises – that means fewer burrows for the frogs. Development has also destroyed breeding ponds and intercepted the frogs’ migration routes. Florida gopher frogs survive in protected areas, such as Apalachicola National Forest and military bases throughout the state.
DB: Today’s show was made possible, in part, by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. We’re Block and Byrd for Earth and Sky.
The following individuals were interviewed for today’s show. Our thanks to:
Paul Moler
Wildlife Biologist
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Sam Telford
Zoologist
Courtesy Curator
Florida Museum of Natural History
Gainesville, Florida
More Resources:
““Distribution and Status of the Striped Newt and Florida Gopher Frog in Peninsular Florida,”:http://wld.fwc.state.fl.us/cptps/PDFs/Reports/Franz%20Frogs.pdf” by Richard Franz and Lora Smith
Gopher Frogs – Rana capito
To hear the snoring call, visit here.
Author’s Notes:
The gopher frog (whose scientific name is Rana capito aesopus) isn’t the only type of frog with a distinctive breeding call. Some frogs, for example, sound like barking dogs.
No one knows for sure how long gopher frogs live. But captive tree frogs have lived for 14 years or longer, and gopher frogs may live just as long ñ if they don’t get eaten first by snakes, hawks, owls, or other predators. Gopher frogs will eat practically anything that moves that they can fit in their mouths. Prey includes insects, spiders, small snakes, even other frogs and toads.
The frogs don’t necessarily return to the same ponds or burrows after each migration. They most likely use several ponds and burrows throughout their lives, though most are probably close to each other.
Heavy rains typically hit Florida in February and March, and then again in September and October. Gopher frogs usually breed at those times, especially during the spring season, but they’ll take advantage of rainy periods any time of year if the weather is warm enough for mating.
Additional Teacher Resources
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, Species Spotlight: Gopher Frog
A brief natural history of the Gopher frog as well as additional links that provide information on where to find the species, their reproductive habitats, and their symbiotic relationship with the Gopher tortoise.
U.S. Army Environmental Center, Environmental Update: Researcher Gets Jump on Rare Frogs, Electronic Tracking Keeps Tabs
This article explains the efforts of a scientist working at Fort Benning Georgia. Through the use of telemetry scientists are trying to learn more about the range and breeding habits of the Gopher frog, in order to better understand what is necessary for protection.
Brucemeans.com: Where have all the gopher frogs gone? A scientist’s froggy love let him to wonder why gopher frogs in one half of a local forest had disappeared? Learn The Scientific Method
Bruce Means graduated from kindergarten a long time ago, but he still likes to splatter in mud puddles and scour the woods for critters. One of the 62-year-old scientist’s favorite haunts is the Apalachicola National Forest. This article tells the story of Bruce Mean’s research on the population decline of the gopher frog.
