Hop To It!

About two weeks ago on one of our tromps through the soggy June woods, a huge toad leaped right in our path. The dogs were absolutely nonplussed. I, however, was not. The toad was about six inches long and all puffed up and completely harmless. In fact, as it turns out, I should have taken note of the exact location of that toad and sent it in to Frogwatch USA.

It turns out that counting frogs and toads is incredibly important to scientists. Amphibians with their semi-permeable skin are very sensitive to changes in the environment and can help indicate where environmental pollutants are especially prevalent and potentially deadly. Indeed, more than 2,000 amphibian species from around the world are endangered and raise many questions about the state of the environments in their native habitats.

Frogwatch USA, currently under the auspices of the National Wildlife Foundation but soon to be the province of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, is undertaking its yearly summer count of frogs and toads around the country. Anyone can participate by signing up at their website, which is filled with helpful information about the best places to count and watch frogs in your neck of the woods.

It turns out that amphibians have also contributed to our understanding of anatomy. We have also discovered antibiotics and some analgesics from amphibians and they have long been important cultural symbols around the world.

So hop to it!! Go out and count the frogs in your neighborhood--especially if you have had as soggy a Spring as we have had in the East, they should be especially plentiful. You'll be doing backyard science and contributing to our understanding of climate change.