Tickle Your Brain

Now that it’s spring, you may start to hear frogs croaking! Frogs are amphibians. The word amphibian comes from the Greek word amphibious, which means “two lives.” An amphibian can live on land and in the water. Similar to humans, frogs use their lungs to breathe on land. Frogs also breathe through their skin. A frog can breathe more than half of the oxygen it needs through its skin, but only if the skin is damp. If a frog’s skin dries out, the frog will struggle to breathe. Frogs are cold blooded. That means their inside body temperature is about the same as the outside temperature. When temperatures drop, some frogs will dig burrows underground to stay warm. During the cold months, frogs enter a motionless state called hibernation. Frogs come out of hibernation in the spring when the weather begins to warm up. Many frogs are born in the spring. The frog life cycle begins with female frogs laying hundreds of eggs in water. Eventually, tadpoles will hatch from the eggs. Over time, the tadpoles will metamorphose into a tiny frog. At this time, the frog will climb out of the pond and begin living its life on land and in water. Frogs can be found in a variety of habitats on every continent except Antarctica. The green frog, bullfrog, and wood frog are common Ohio frogs.

Frogs come in a variety of sizes and colors. Although their colors vary, frogs have two main color schemes for survival. One color scheme is mottled green and brown. These colors are used for camouflage, making it difficult for predators to spot the frogs. The other color scheme is bright colors. Brightly colored frogs, like poison dart frogs, signal a warning sign to predators that their skin is toxic. Despite their color differences, frogs are easy to recognize. Almost all have long back legs, a large head, damp skin, big eyes, and no tails. A frog’s life is all about eating. Frogs eat almost anything that moves and can fit inside their mouths. Most species eat spiders, worms, crickets, grasshoppers, and slugs. Bigger frog species will eat mice, birds, and small reptiles. Unlike humans, frogs don’t have to worry about drinking water. Their skin absorbs the water for them. Frogs are prey too. Almost all animals in a freshwater biome will prey on frogs if they can catch them. Birds, snakes, raccoons, and otters are just a few animals that eat them. Many frogs will jump to escape predators. A bullfrog can jump more than six feet.

Frogs play an important role in nature. They are pivotal in food webs as they act as both predators and prey. Frogs help keep a large part of the world’s insect population under control. Frogs also help scientists studying environmental pollution. Due to their permeable skin, frogs are highly sensitive to pollutants and changes. Scientists will monitor how frogs are behaving to determine the health of the environment. Declining frog populations can serve as an early warning sign of environmental problems. The largest threat to frog species is habitat loss related to human activity. There are several conservation groups and government agencies working to protect frogs. Here are some things you can do to protect frogs:

• Look, but don’t touch: frogs breathe through their skin and can easily absorb your salts, oils, and lotions
• Don’t move rocks, build dams, or channelize riverbeds: disturbing rocks can harm frogs and their eggs
• Save the spray: avoid or reduce your use of pesticides and fertilizers