Frog-call recognition seminars stretch well beyond 'ribbit'

The Southern leopard frog sounds like it's laughing when making its calls, and the spring peeper imitates the clucking of a chicken.

When the green tree frog of Arkansas revs up, its croak sounds like a quacking goose.

There's no stereotypical "ribbit." The American bullfrog hums a "rum-gunga-rum" when talking to its frog pond denizens.

A national organization monitoring amphibian populations wants to train Arkansans to identify the different species of frogs and toads by their calls in a bid to help save them.

FrogWatch USA, a citizen science program of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums of Silver Spring, Md., will hold several frog-calling seminars around Arkansas through April. Those attending the free seminars will learn to discern between frog and toad calls and be offered voluntary positions as "frog watchers."

The association will hold its first seminar of the year at Parkin Archeological State Park in Parkin from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday. Registration is required to attend and can be done by calling the park at (870) 755-2500.

Over the next four months, other sessions will be held in Wynne, Mountain Home, Fayetteville, West Fork, Springdale, Fort Smith, Little Rock, Mountainburg and Harrison. Anyone interested in attending a seminar can see the schedule of events at www.arkansasfrogsandtoads.org.

"As the human population keeps getting bigger, it's taking the natural habitat," said Tom Krohn, coordinator of the Arkansas chapter of FrogWatch USA in Yellville. "People see wetlands as wastelands. They see it as spaces to develop.

"Frogs can't exist without habitat. They are important to the ecosystem, but they are overlooked. There are no football teams named the 'Frogs.' It'd be a tragedy this spring if there were no frog calls."

Krohn said frogs and toads are in the middle of the food chain. They are dinner for fish, herons and other predators. Without frogs, those animals will die or move to other areas, he said. Frogs and toads eat mosquitoes and flies.

Those who attend the seminars will learn the calls of Arkansas' 23 species of frogs and toads, said Ryan Smith, park interpreter of the Parkin Archeological State Park.

"We'll study the biology of frogs and learn to identify them by their sounds," Smith said. "It's much easier to hear frogs and toads than to see them."

At the end of each seminar, those interested in becoming FrogWatch USA volunteers will take a written test in which they will identify frogs and toads on the basis of their calls, he said.

If participants pass the test, they will be asked to chose a location near their homes and monitor frog calls for 3 minutes each week and then log their findings in a FrogWatch USA database. That way the organization can determine if an area's frog population is stable or declining.

"Frogs and toads will either make alarm calls to warn others when they are afraid, or breeding calls," Smith said. "You can pick up on them and learn the difference."

"Frogs and toads are a good bellwether for the environment," he said. "If there is an environmental problem, it shows up quickly in frogs."

"There's a general decline in all frog populations," Smith said. "Some species are in better shape than others. Because Arkansas still has some natural areas, it's not as bad as it is in other states. But, 60 or 70 years ago, I'm sure you would have heard a lot more frogs here."

Most people notice the passage of the seasons by the foliage, Smith said.

He's different.

"In the spring, you see the daffodils begin to bloom and later the dogwoods come out," he said. "I see spring come in with the American toad, followed by the eastern narrow-mouthed toad.

"I go through the year with frogs."

NW News on 01/16/2017

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