Frog Habitat
Frog Habitat Is More Complex Than You Might Think
Typical frog habitat is usually thought of as a swampy area, or a small pond, with the requisite lily pads. There is quite a bit of truth to that statement. Frogs do need water to survive, and in fact need water to get started as eggs and tadpoles. However, frogs are distributed over most of the world, except Antarctica, and some of the islands in our oceans, and their habitats can vary widely. In addition, there are several thousand frog species in the world, mostly in tropical regions, including 50 or so different species in the United States, and the habitat requirements of the various species can also vary.
Frog Habitat Is Quite Diversified - Depending upon the species in question and the region in which they live, frog habitat will differ from place to place. Many species will be found in ponds only during breeding periods. When breeding is completed they will leave the pond and go elsewhere until the next breeding period. Many species spend much of their time in trees, tropical plants and vines, or other vegetation. Other species spend their time borrowing in mud or soil. One Arctic species, spends the winter cheerfully frozen solid, then thaws out in the spring and resumes its daily routine! An Australian frog will go underground to hibernate during the dry season, and will return to the surface once the rains come. Frog habitat then is seen to vary from tropical rain forest, to wetlands in more temperate zones, to arid or harsh desert climates, to Arctic tundra.
Are Frogs Becoming Endangered Species? - Frogs, and their amphibian cousins, have been around about as long as any animal, outlasting many species long extinct. Today however, many frog species are disappearing in numbers at an alarming rate, and some have become extinct in recent years. There are several reasons, with changes in frog habitat being one of them, but the problem is only partially understood. Frogs have very sensitive skin, and besides breathing through their skin, the skin absorbs many of the elements or chemicals found in the frog's environment. The frog is somewhat like the proverbial canary in the coal mine. When something in its environment is out of whack, the frog often is the first to suffer ill effects.
As is the case with many other species of wildlife, many species of frogs are becoming endangered as frog habitat is either destroyed or disrupted. This can mean destruction of wetlands for purposes of land development, damage done to streams by logging or road construction, or simply the dumping of trash and pollutants. Global warming is also suspect, as water temperature changes or a decrease in the number of ponds and wet areas makes conditions uninhabitable for the animals. The frog has proven to be quite adaptable when it comes to living in a number of very different environments. Unfortunately, this adaptability has occurred over great expanses of time, and the frog can simply not adapt to rapid changes in frog habitat as we are witnessing in many places today. Frogs need water in order to breed, and the eggs and tadpoles require ample water to survive and turn into true frogs. The water must contain certain salts and nutrients, some of which the frog will absorb through its skin, and must be free of toxic elements, which the frog could also absorb through its skin. The frog habitat also requires vegetation, not only for food but for places to hide from predators.
Introduction of other species into its environment can also work to the frog's detriment. For many years, it has been the policy to stock barren lakes with fish, primarily mountain lakes, and primarily with trout. This made for good fishing in some new areas, but in many cases resulted in eradication of the resident frogs. Trout eat frog's eggs, tadpoles, and small frogs. This is an example of a seemingly good idea with unforeseen and bad consequences. There are other issues contributing to the decline in the frog population, of them the chytrid fungus, which is proving deadly to frogs, appears to be spreading, and thrives in warmer waters. The fungus is believed to have been introduced by certain invasive or exotic species, and its presence has a drastic impact on frog habitat. (continued...)