Humboldt’s frogs are thriving - The LumberJack

-

by Sophia Escudero

Humboldt County, with its streams and rivers, undeveloped wild spaces, and above-average amount of rain, is an ideal habitat for amphibians.

The Pacific tree frog, also known as the Pacific chorus frog, is the most common local frog. Its habitat spans from Northern California to Alaska, and it makes its home in ponds, rivers, forests, grasslands, and even urban settings. The distinctive "ribbit, ribbit" song of the Pacific tree frog can be heard clearly in spring as the male of the species attempts to attract a mate. However, they can be harder to spot than to hear.

"They seem to blend with their background," said adjunct professor Brian Hudgens of the Cal Poly Humboldt wildlife department. "It's not as fast as a chameleon, but they do. If you put a green one against a brown background for a couple days and then come back, it will turn brown."

Less audible is the California red-legged frog, which gives its call underwater and can be found in slow-moving water and ponds. The California red-legged frog has a celebrity history, having been named the California state amphibian and starring in a Mark Twain short story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." This frog is a threatened species due to habitat loss, despite efforts being made by the state of California and the federal government.

Photo courtesy of Brian Hudgens. A foothill yellow-legged frog pokes its head out of Honeydew Creek.

Another protected frog is the foothill yellow-legged frog, which is a species of concern. The yellow-legged frog lives in streams and, although they vary in coloration, can be identified by their rough skin and habit of jumping into moving water. Their historic range extends from Oregon to Baja California.

"The foothill yellow-legged frogs are breeding now, and you might be able to see egg masses attached to rocks and cobble near the shallow edges of our local rivers," Hudgens said. "I actually would appreciate hearing if any of your readers see an egg mass and want to pass along the location and any photos."

While both the California red-legged frog and the foothill yellow-legged frog are listed as threatened or endangered species in the state of California, the Humboldt populations are thriving.

"Most of the places where it lives, or where its historic range covers, are the foothills on the edge of the Central Valley," Hudgens said of the yellow-legged frog. "And those are areas that are under a lot of developmental pressure, a lot of agricultural pressure, and the rivers and streams around here don't have the same kind of pressure."

To help out local frogs, the most important thing you can do is speak out against the development of their natural habitats. Humboldt is a haven for native frog species, and protecting their habitats protects them. When you are in a frog breeding ground, such as a river or pond, it's important to keep an eye out for eggs and tadpoles underfoot. Washing shoes and swim equipment before and after going to the river can help stop the spread of disease to different populations.

You can create a habitat for frogs in your own backyard. Providing any size pond or standing water can encourage frogs to lay eggs, especially if you live near an existing frog habitat. Hudgens recommends allowing the pond to dry out fully once a year in order to discourage invasive bullfrogs, which prey on native species and compete with them for resources. Bullfrogs take two years to fully mature, while native frogs reach adulthood in a matter of months.

"If you've got a stream running through your backyard, maintaining a nice cobble area will really help out the yellow-legged frogs," Hudgens said. "If you're in an area with bullfrogs, trying to keep them out is probably the biggest thing we can do for all of our amphibians."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

All In The Family: Maine Mother & Son Charged in Massive Drug Bust

-
Image
corso dog :: Article Creator Woman Hospitalized After Attack By 2 Dogs At Same Edmonton Home Where Boy Died: Lawyer UPDATE: On April 15, 2024, the City of Edmonton provided an update on the fatal attack. It said that prior to the deadly incident on April 1, "the city had no lawful basis to remove the dogs from the home." The city added that "all prior complaints about the dogs involved in this incident were investigated thoroughly and appropriate action was taken in accordance with the applicable legislation." The city also said a review found that its staff "acted appropriately in accordance with our standard practices and in compliance with the relevant legal constraints given the nature of past complaints and reports." A woman was hospitalized after being attacked in February by two large Cane Corso dogs at the same home where an 11-year-old boy was killed last week, the woman's lawyer told Global News. "I...
Read more

Rare Frogs And Illegal Drugs - Palisades Hudson Financial Group

-
Image
Colombian conservationist Ivan Lozano has hit on a brilliantly promising strategy to protect his country’s rare and endangered amphibians. His plan: Flood the market with them. Lozano is not hunting rare frogs in Colombia’s Andean forests. He is raising them himself and selling them at prices designed to undercut poachers and smugglers. If he can raise the frogs cheaply enough, and in large enough numbers, he might manage to drive down the market price to the point that poachers no longer find it worthwhile to harvest and smuggle the creatures onto the black markets. Lozano told The Associated Press that his company also encourages collectors to breed their own frogs. Picture yourself as a poacher. If the government toughens the legal penalties and steps up enforcement, you will shrug your shoulders; legal risks are a basic cost of doing business. Since the demand for your product already exists among foreign collectors and other buyers, tougher enforcement merely reduces supply a...
Read more

Burn scars, winter storms threaten rare and endangered species in San Gabriel Mountains - The Bakersfield Californian

-
Image
LOS ANGELES — Up until a few weeks ago, the West Fork of the San Gabriel River was one of the most abundant wildlife habitats in Los Angeles County, a secluded and rugged area defined by its steep peaks, lush canyons and mixture of rare and endangered species. Recently however, a team of federal biologists and forest rangers was aghast when it visited the stream following the Bobcat fire, which has burned more than 115,000 acres in the heart of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. Terrain that once resembled a High Sierra granite gorge now looked like ground zero after a nuclear explosion, and the usually clean mountain air was sharp with the stench of smoke. Particularly unsettling were the bare and ashen slopes that were now primed to dissolve under pounding winter storms. A heavy mudslide, experts said, could reverse decades of conservation efforts by inundating the last outposts for such federally protected species as the Santa Ana sucker fish and Southern California m...
Read more