Frogs in the News
There are reports of frogs being arrested in Nevada and frogs that make so much noise that that home values are going down in the neighborhood.
Maybe the most disturbing, however, are the reports of the disappearance of whole species of frogs. What could be causing it? Scientists don't seem to know. Probably there are multiple causes but one man has a theory. When reading the news one day he noticed an article about how a certain pregnancy test may have caused a fungus to spread to the wild population.
Reading stories like these help children begin to see the interconnectedness of all life. In order to save amphibians such as the golden toad of Costa Rica or the harlequin frogs from South and Central America we must become much more vigilant in how we treat our environment.
Photo Credit: Frog Reporter
on Flickr, Creative Commons.
Frog Report Table of Contents
Organization of the Frog Report
- Frogs in the News!
- Frogs are Croaking!
- Counting Frogs
- Counting Frogs
- Monitoring Frog Populations
- Frog Call Intensity Chart
- Frogs and Mass Migration
- Frog Eggs
- Frog Leg Festival
- Save the Frogs
- Diversity Decreases Desease
- Frog in the Swamp with Cattails
- Frog News!
- Frog Communication
- Frog communication!
- How is Climate Change Effecting Frogs?
- Twittering about Endangered Frogs
- Guide to Frogs
- Classroom Frog Report
- Learn more about Frogs:
- Help Give Frogs a Square Deal!
- Tell us about any Frog News in your area:
- About the Author of this Frog Report
- Evelyn's Hands-on Learning Blog
Frogs in the News!
The Frog Report!
- Frogs Arested!
- ABC News: Nevada Game Wardens Seized nearly 200 Illegal African Frogs from homes in Reno.
Authorities who seized 119 of frogs from three Reno, Nevada homes last month and recovered another 68 this week in seven Nevada counties.
Florida-based Grow-a-Frog, a company that sells tadpoles as an educational tool, over the Internet, called the shipments to Nevada a mistake.
Photo Credit: Frog is Used by Permission.
Photo Credit: Police Officer is in the public domain.
Banned as an illegal invasive species, African Clawed Frogs live mostly in the water and grow as large as bullfrogs. Escaped Frogs can destroy ecosystems by voraciously eating native fish.
At least 10 other states outlaw the African clawed frogs without a special permit - Arizona, California, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia and Washington.
- http://www.johnelkington.com/weblog/2006_02_01_arc.html
- If any one class of animals brought me to environmentalism, it was frogs - largely in Northern Ireland.
Have been reading for years about possible reasons for the worldwide decline in frog numbers, among them climate change.
Now a piece in today's Independent (Michael McCarthy, 'Pregnancy test may have spawned deadly frog fungus') offers a possible root cause, or at least contributory factor.
And the story underscores how interrelated things are getting in a world of more and more people doing more things and travelling more often....
-john elkington
Frogs are Croaking!
What is causing Frogs to disappear?
Fresh Picked Sweet Corn by David Brown
Buy at AllPosters.com
Northern Leopard Frog by David M.Dennis
Buy at AllPosters.com
All around the world frogs are dissappearing and scientists are trying to figure out why. Some researchers believe that it is in part due to the fertilizer that farmers use to grow corn and sorghum.
- Why frogs are croaking ?
- In the quest to find out why frog species have been declining so dramatically, various researchers have blamed climate change, disease, pollution, and increases in ultraviolet light from the sun reaching the surface. If two new studies are any indication, the answer increasingly appears to be: all of the above.
Researchers led by the University of South Florida's Jason Rohr have found that an herbicide commonly used by farmers growing corn and sorghum as well as high phosphate levels from fertilizer appear to be triggering a decline in the northern leopard frog. ...
Counting Frogs
Counting Frogs
Mathematics in the Frog Unit Study
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Learning to Count with Frogs
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Learning to count can be a joyful hop around the Frog Pond. With this froggy theme, children count their way around the frog board, count the flies the frog eats and count the hidden frogs. From counting to 10 to helping in annual Frog Monitoring pr...
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Frog Pattern Math
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When planning activities for your Frog Unit Study you might think that math would be an abstract subject that has nothing to do with frogs. In this lens we will explore ways to integrated math into your study of frogs and tadpoles. Mathematics is ba...
Monitoring Frog Populations
Reporting on Frog Populations
Photo Credit: Counting Frogs
in the Public Domain
Learn the calls of 13 species of frogs and toads and you could help in the Chicago area Calling Frog Survey.
- Habitat Project - Calling Frog Survey
- In the 1960's, the cricket frog was the most common amphibian in Illinois. Today, it has nearly disappeared from the northern third of Illinois, for unexplained reasons. By monitoring amphibian populations in the Chicago region, we will be able to detect population changes before it is too late as well as assess the effects of management regimes on amphibians.
- Wayne's World: May 3's the day to help conduct census of frogs - recordonline.com - The Times Herald Record
- CORNWALL — Unsung as spring heralds, it's about time the loudmouthed frog tribe gets its long-overdue recognition. Birds come and go. But it's the frogs who stick around all year long. Buried in mud. Basically frozen — like the wood frog — off in some leaf litter.
Your human big frog moment comes on May 3, when Frogwatch USA asks you to go out and listen in the warm (hopefully) moist night air for the calls of our backyard frogs and toads. - Wildlife trust hopping to the aid of area's frogs and toads
- Sevenoaks residents are being asked to don warm clothes and wellington boots and spend a few minutes at a pond or, indeed, a place where water gathers naturally, to record signs specifically of the common frog or toad.
Ms Blackburn said: "If you don't know what's there you can't know what's changing.
"We need to try to find out what the state of the population is in the first place.
"They're not in danger, they're just declining. It's easier to try to help a species when it's not too badly off than when it's on the brink. - Frog Survey
Marine biologist Jennifer Anderson-Cruz sits on the dock of Nahant Marsh in west Davenport and listens . . . . . . . . . for frogs. She has been counting frogs at the marsh (by listening) for 10 years. She goes every other week during breeding season and records the number and type of frogs she here- BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Experts poised for rare frog hunt
Scientists are to hunt for some of the world's rarest frogs in Costa Rica, including the iconic golden toad, last seen 20 years ago.
Scientists working on the Global Amphibian Assessment estimated that one-third of all amphibians were threatened with extinction and about 120 species had already become extinct since the 1980s.
Frog Call Intensity Chart
How to Monitor and Record Frog Calls
Photo Credit: Leopard Frog
on Flickr, Creative Commons.
Ever wondered how frogs are counted? One way is by keeping track of the intensity of frog call. Subjective for sure but possibly the best indicator. We all know how frogs just clam up when approached and are difficult at best to find in the daytime let alone at night.
- Maine Frogs - FrogwatchUSA - National Wildlife Federation
- What is call intensity?
Frogwatch USA uses the following scale to quantify a species during an observation period.
0 = No frogs or toads can be heard calling.
1 = Individuals can be counted; there is space between calls
2 = Calls of individuals can be distinguished but there is some overlapping of calls
3 = Full chorus, calls are constant, continuous and overlappings. - Researching Frog Calls
Tungara Frog Calls
Sonograms and waveforms of Tungara frog call complexity series.
Frogs and Mass Migration
Report on the Annual Migration of Frogs to Vernal Ponds
- A Big Night for viewing frogs and salamanders - The Bolton Common
- It's a mating ritual as old as time and hundreds will travel, under rain-drenched skies, trying to make their way to a liquid oasis. The males will arrive first, eagerly awaiting the onslaught of females.
The courtship ends quickly though, as these amphibians get down to the business of laying and fertilizing their eggs in a local vernal pool. Once finished, the wood frogs and spotted salamanders will abandon the eggs and return to higher ground.
Frog Eggs
Frog Pond Monitoring from the Frog Unit Study
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Frog Eggs
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Each year we eagerly await the arrival of spring to listen to the Spring Peeper and anticipate the discovery of frog eggs in the vernal pools. Frogs lay their eggs in pools, ponds, and puddles. As snow melts, low lying areas fill with water and frogs...
Frog Leg Festival
Do you eat frog's legs?
- Russ Lemmon: Activist plans to once again protest at Fellsmere Frog Leg Festival
- Animal-rights activist Laura Guttridge, 45, has staged a protest every year since 1997.
About 45,000 people attended last year's festival and about 6,000 pounds of frog legs were served. Doing the math, that means about 80,000 frogs were killed.
Save the Frogs
Report on Efforts to Save Endangered Frogs
- The story of 'Save the Frogs Day', April 28th, An Interview with Kerry Kriger
- Founder and director of SAVE THE FROGS!, Dr. Kerry Kriger is responsible for the first annual Save The Frogs Day on Tuesday, April 28th with events planned worldwide from the United States to Nepal, and Australia to China
- Save The Frogs Day | April 28, 2009
- Save The Frogs Day is this April 28th, 2009! Find out how to get your school involved and help spread awareness of the amphibian extinction crisis.
"Study shows that an increase in diversity of host species actually can reduce parasite transmission"
Diversity Decreases Desease
Report on Tadpoles
- Amphibian Diversity Decreases Chances Of Parasitic Disease, Study Shows
- A new study showing that American toads who pal around with gray tree frogs reduce their chances of parasitic infections known to cause limb malformations has strong implications for the benefits of biodiversity on emerging wildlife diseases.
Frog in the Swamp with Cattails
I Wonder what this frog has to Report?
Photo Credit: Frog in the Swamp
from Florida Center for Instructional Technology .
Frog News!
- Feedmysearch needs your opinion, help and advice
- Dear feedmysearch user, Feedmysearch would require some serious server upgrade and a bit of development to be back online. However it seems hard to monetize and without monetisation, no future ! You ‘re welcome to express any opinion, advice, partnership proposal ! And feel free to forward it to whoever you think might have a say. [...]
Frog Communication
Reporting on Frog Communication
- Ultrasonic Communication Among Frogs
- Scientists report on the only known frog species that can communicate using purely ultrasonic calls, whose frequencies are too high to be heard by humans. Known as Huia cavitympanum, the frog lives only on the Southeast Asian island of Borneo.
Frog communication!
The energy in most frog calls lies between 100 Hz and 6Hz, and is thus well within the human hearing range.
Scientific name: Rana esculenta
How is Climate Change Effecting Frogs?
Help your child understand Global Warming
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Global Warming for children
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For young children to understand a concept like Global Warming it needs to be taught through hands-on observable experiments. Make a terrarium with falling rain. Melt ice and watch the water level of a lake rise. Observe what happens when plants rec...
Twittering about Endangered Frogs
What's making everyone Hopping Mad?
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- kaskadia
- RT @TheEcoist: @InvasiveNotes Thought this was interesting. RT @savethefrogs: CA's endangered Yellow-Legged Frogs: http://bit.ly/removetrout
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- InvasiveNotes
- YUP! RT @TheEcoist: Thought this interesting. RT @savethefrogs: CA's critically endangered Yellow-Legged Frogs: http://bit.ly/removetrout
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- TheEcoist
- @InvasiveNotes Thought this was interesting. RT @savethefrogs: CA's critically endangered Yellow-Legged Frogs: http://bit.ly/removetrout
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- CB4wildlife
- RT @savethefrogs: Non-Native Trout vs Endangered Frogs: Round 2 has begun. http://bit.ly/removetrout #nature #camping #outdoors
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- savethefrogs
- Non-Native Trout vs Endangered Frogs: Round 2 has begun. http://bit.ly/removetrout #nature #camping #outdoors
Guide to Frogs
Reference Materials forFrog Reports
A Field Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians of Eastern & Central North America (Peterson Field Guide Series)
:Learn about the various species of frogs.
Amazon Price: $14.28 (as of 11/26/2009) 
A Plague of Frogs : The Horrifying True Story
Deformed frogs. Frogs with too many or not enough legs.
Amazon Price: (as of 11/26/2009)
Science and Conservation of Vernal Pools in Northeastern North America: Ecology and Conservation of Seasonal Wetlands in Northeastern North America
Pulling together information from a broad array of sources, this book guides readers through the issues and solutions surrounding seasonal pools.
Drawing on fifteen years of experience, the editors have mined published literature, personal communication from professionals working in the field, unpublished reports and data, and other sources to present the latest information and practical application of this knowledge.
They synthesize decades of research on vernal pools and pool-dependent biota, building a foundation for presenting the tools for conserving these ecosystems.
Covering a wide range of topics, the book focuses on the key ecological function of vernal pools.
Amazon Price: $90.37 (as of 11/26/2009)
Classroom Frog Report
Frog Unit Studies in the News
- Students Hop into Frog Lesson
- For young students, it's important to integrate school subjects with fun activities, to hold their attention and keep them interested in what they're learning...
Their unit on frogs in anything but boring.They sing songs.And leap around the room, imitating how frogs move...
"We were seeing how far we can jump like a frog."
Then counting the distance by 10's, getting so much enjoyment out of the game, they don't even realize they're practicing math skills. - The Commercial-News, Danville, IL - Teacher has Georgia on her mind
- Mon, Jun 08 2009
...Animals aren't really a rare sight in the classroom of this retiring Williamsport Elementary School teacher. Dubbed the "Chicken Lady" because of her annual spring tradition of hatching chickens in the classroom, McDonald's projects have introduced the kids to a wide range of animals, including butterflies, bats and frogs...
McDonald said. "And last year I ran into a student who still had one of the frogs from the tadpoles we used in a classroom project years ago. It was still alive and doing well."...
Learn more about Frogs:
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Frog Unit Study: Hopping to Learn
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Take trips to the frog pond. Become a frog and play games and sing songs, gobble up the insect words and swat the fly verbs. This lens will give you dozens of ideas, resources, hints and tricks to create frog-themed activities for both homeschool fam...
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Frog Pattern Math
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When planning activities for your Frog Unit Study you might think that math would be an abstract subject that has nothing to do with frogs. In this lens we will explore ways to integrated math into your study of frogs and tadpoles. Mathematics is ba...
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Who Layed THAT Egg?
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Everyone knows that chickens lay eggs. Most people know that all other birds do as well but have you ever thought about all the other animals that lay eggs? Children may be surprised that some eggs do not contain birds. Other egg layers include frogs...
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Build a Classroom Frog Pond
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When you are trying to learn about frogs there is nothing that can beat having your own backyard frog pond. Teaching about frogs and pond life I found that daily trips to the frog pond offer opportunities for children to observe frogs in all their st...
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Industrial Waste in the Frog Pond
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Are Vernal Pools in remote rural areas of Vermont being destroyed by industrial waste? Come on a walk in the early spring. Walk through the cold wet mud and try not to slip on the remaining spots of ice as we go on a hunt for frog eggs and discover s...
Help Give Frogs a Square Deal!
The Wild Animal Sanctuary, formerly the Rocky Mountain Wildlife Conservation Center, near Denver, CO and is a state and federally licensed zoological facility. They have been rescuing exotic wildlife and endangered species since 1980. The residents of our
Tell us about any Frog News in your area:
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Reply
- ElizabethJeanAllen ElizabethJeanAllen May 29, 2009 @ 5:01 pm
- Welcome to the Nature and the Outdoors Group.
Lizzy
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Reply
- Brookelorren Brookelorren May 15, 2009 @ 4:51 am
- I heard about this before, but your lens does a better job of informing :-)
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- MyChildCreatesowner MyChildCreatesowner May 10, 2009 @ 3:22 am
- Great lens! Wonderful array of interesting facts and links...thanks for the info. Well done!
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- Heather426 Heather426 May 3, 2009 @ 11:51 pm
- I did not know about this problem. Nice job! In Hawaii there has been an invasion of frogs and they want to get rid of them.
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- Evelyn_Saenz Evelyn_Saenz May 1, 2009 @ 1:33 pm | in reply to Wysiwigs
- Of course the release of tadpoles is newsworthy.
- Load More
About the Author of this Frog Report
Hop on over to my Hands-On Learning Blog Log.-
Evelyn Saenz: Lensography of a Teacher
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My passion is teaching and finding ways to teach children in fun, hands-on, creative ways. The unit studies I make on Squidoo reflect my view that learning should be integrated and no skills should be taught in isolation. I believe that each topic s...
Evelyn's Hands-on Learning Blog
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