The Wood Frog

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Description and Habitat

The wood frog is part of the amphibian family and is nothing short of unique. It can range from 3.5 to 7.6 cm in length. Suggested by the name, it is a frog that is found mainly in wooded areas, lakes, forests and boggy land; however they can just about survive anywhere there is enough water available in the spring for breeding.

The wood frog is the most widely distributed amphibian, mainly dispersed throughout the North American region, indicated by the image below. "It is found farther north than any other North American reptile or amphibian, and is the only frog found north of the Arctic Circle. (Conant and Collins, 1998, Kiehl, K. 2000) They range in colours, "usually browns, tans and rust, but can also be found in shades of green and gray. In all cases however, they can be distinguished by a black patch that extends over the tympanum to the base of the front limb". (Kiehl, K. 2000)

Range of Wood frog:

First pic: (Enviornment and Natural Resources 2012)

Second pic:

http://idahoherps.pbworks.com/w/page/8133239/Rana%20sylvatica,%20Wood 20frog

Adaptations to their enviornment

As the wood frogs are ectothermic, one of the major adaptations to their envionment is the adaptation to climate change.

Unlike any other animal, wood frogs have the unique ability to witstand freezing conditions in their habitats during the winter months by undergoing a unique process allowing for 65% of their bodies to freeze. Once the temperatures begin to drop, ice starts to form in the habitat and after just one touch of ice, the wood frog starts to freeze. "Even more incredible is the fact that the wood frogs stop breathing and their hearts stop beating entirely for days to weeks at a time. In fact, dur...

... middle of paper ...

...ates sylvaticus)." [online], available: http://www.naturenorth.com/spring/creature/woodfrog/wf2.html [Accessed: 19 Feb 2014].

Sirucek, 2014. "How Arctic Frogs Survive Being Frozen Alive" [online] available: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/08/21/how-the-alaska-wood-frog-survives-being-frozen/ [Accessed: 19 Feb 2014].

Encyclopedia of Life, 2014. "Facts about Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) - Encyclopedia of Life" [online] available: http://eol.org/pages/331212/details [Accessed: 19 Feb 2014].

Cranfield University, 2014. "Developing animal instincts for business survival" [online], available: http://www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/p17319/Think-Cranfield/2012/March-2012/Developing-animal-instincts-for-business-survival

Fcps.edu, 2014. "wood frog" [online] available: http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/wood_frog.htm [Accessed: 19 Feb 2014].

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