Frogs, Frogs and More Frogs
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| Poison Dart Frog |
There are lots of really exotic frogs at the current
exhibit, Frogs: A Chorus of Colour. Although these frogs certainly contribute a
WOW! Factor and will bring a multitude of visitors to RBG, it is our very own native frogs that play a role in the natural lands of RBG.
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| Chinese Gliding Frog |
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| Green Frog - the most common frog in RBG wetlands. |
As amphibians, frogs spend the egg and larval stages of
their life cycle in the water and so are susceptible to changes in water
quality. Thus they are known as ecological indicators since population numbers
will decline as pollution of water increases and as wetlands are reduced. Prior to 1950 there were 8 species of frogs and
1 toad species at RBG, with that number bottoming out at 2 frog and 1 toad
species in the early 90’s. With the habitat restoration efforts in RBG wetlands
areas the number of species has increased to 5 frog and 1 toad, although
population sizes are still below expectations.
RBG scientists, along with support from Environment Canada, will perform
studies to determine what factors are restricting the recovery of our frog
populations.
Monitoring of frog populations is done by listening for the
breeding calls of the male frogs in the spring. RBG staff and many volunteers
use the Marsh Monitoring Program of Bird Studies Canada to map the locations of
frogs throughout Cootes Paradise and Grindstone Marshes.
The six species of frogs and toad present on
RBG properties are: Green Frogs (over 50%), Gray Treefrogs, American Toads (25%),
Northern Leopard Frogs, Wood Frogs and Spring Peepers although the latter two
are still quite rare. The species that formerly inhabited RBG are American
Bullfrogs, Western Chorus Frog and Pickerel Frog.
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| Gray Treefrog |
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| Wood Frog - rare on RBG property |
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| Spring Peeper - rare on RBG property |
To hear the various frog calls visit this website:
Thanks goes to RBG for their Fact Sheet on Amphibians (Jan 2015)
