Posted by Rachel Holding on April 5, 2007

Q: Are there other frogs/toads which can be good indicators in other habitats such as in forests?

State: New York

A: There are several species of frog in New York that are found primarily in forested habitats — the Wood Frog and the Northern Spring Peeper come to mind. Wood Frogs need fairly large, undisturbed forest tracts that contain seasonal pools in which the frogs lay their eggs. Seasonal pools are temporary bodies of water that flood in early spring or late winter and typically dry up by late summer. Peepers are forest animals too, and will breed in pools used by Wood Frogs, but will also breed in nearly any body of water. Peepers also occur in a broader range of habitats than do Wood Frogs.

I don't believe either species has been show to be especially sensitive to environmental pollutants, but both may act as indicators of overall forest health — things like forest tract size, age and degree of disturbance, for example. As forest are cleared or logged and development takes place nearby, the size of remaining forest "patches," the age of the trees they contain, the amount of forest edge created, and the kinds of resources remaining in the forest (like seasonal pools) all have an impact on forest animals.

Populations of Wood Frogs and Spring Peepers would be affected by changes in the distribution and abundance of forest and the destruction of breeding habitat — Wood Frogs are especially sensitive to the health of nearby breeding pools, Spring Peepers less so.

I hope this begins to answer your question.

Solon Morse ( April 16, 2007)