Commentary: Croaks Of Frogs Lure Volunteers To Museum, Local Wetland

The mating call of a Southern Leopard frog sounds like:

• A thumb rubbing across a balloon.

• A chuckle.

• A laugh like the "Three Stooges": Yuck, yuck, yuck.

• All of the above.

As of Tuesday night, at least 50 people in Northwest Arkansas know the answer is all of the above. These people now are certified volunteers for FrogWatch USA and its Arkansas chapter. The volunteers will travel weekly to wetland on their properties or in their communities and listen to the frogs.

And they will collect data on what they hear and record it on the FrogWatch USA website. The organization strives to get a baseline of exactly what frogs and toads are out there, how many and where.

And, by the way, "A frog is a toad, and a toad is a frog," said Tom Krohn, coordinator of Arkansas FrogWatch chapter. Krohn and his wife, Peggy, came to Springdale from Yellville on the last two Tuesdays to lead the Arkansas FrogWatch training program at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History.

"FrogWatch USA is a citizen-science program of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums that provides individuals, groups and families with an opportunity to learn about wetlands in their communities and report data on the calls of local frogs and toads," reads the website of the nonprofit Arkansas FrogWatch. "FrogWatch USA offers the opportunity for long-term, large-scale data collection on these important animals."

Frogs and toads might just be the "canary in the coal mine," Krohn elaborated. Frogs are an indicator species for the environment, and healthy populations mean a healthy environment.

When the frogs go silent, it could mean the population has moved or died. Deformities in frogs also can be a predictor.

"If you see frogs in trouble, something has changed," Krohn said. "It puts up a red flag for us to figure out what happened."

Frogs also eat insects, provide food for other species, contribute to medicine and culture and "make the world more beautiful," he said.

These local volunteers learned about frogs and toads, in general, and the 19 species living in the Ozarks -- a region that runs from Rogers to the Black River and south to the River Valley, Krohn said. (Twenty-three are known to live in Arkansas, and none is endangered or threatened.)

For example, the Southern Leopard frog averages between 2 to 5 inches long (measured from tip of the nose to the bottom of the back -- not the legs); displays a white spot on its tympanum (eardrum); can be found throughout Arkansas; and are early breeders and, thus, callers, Krohn shared.

He listed more fun frog facts: Only males call for mating. Frogs have no ribs because jumping could break them. Their main defense is camouflage. Their tongues are attached in the front of the mouth, not the back, for more range in catching insects -- and "toads never miss," he said.

Frogs use their eyeballs to help them swallow food. Frogs can be found on every continent but Antarctica. A group of frogs is called an "army" and a group of toads, a "knot." If you are eating frog legs, they are probably from a bullfrog or a Southern Leopard frog.

Frog hunting in Arkansas is legal, but it's limited to a season, April to October.

Volunteers will monitor frog calls at their various wetland sites each week between February and August. "We didn't hear any spring peepers until March this year, but last year we heard them in early January," Krohn said, pointing out that frogs are ectothermic, so body temperatures (and calling) are controlled by factors outside of the body -- such as the weather.

For scientific verification, protocols have been created for these frog watchers. They are to listen at least 30 minutes after sunset. They will wait quiet and still, for two minutes, to let the frogs become accustomed to their presence. They then cup their hands behind their ears and listen for three minutes. The volunteers also were taught how to estimate the intensity (number) of frogs in an area.

Then the volunteers enter their data -- which becomes available to anyone -- on the FrogWatch website. Certified volunteers also have the opportunity to uses graphs, maps and more available on the sites.

By the end of the second session of the training, participants could identify various frog calls played by Krohn: The green frog, which sounds like Kermit plucking one string on a banjo; Blanchard's cricket frog, which sounds like a cricket or two steel balls banged together; the Cajun chorus frog, like a finger being run over the teeth of a comb; the Crawfish frog, with sounds like a snoring Razorback.

And those noisy spring peepers, which should stop calling soon, Krohn said.

"We are in the listening business," Krohn said. "You are out there to listen. Just be quiet."

NW News on 04/17/2014