Friday, August 26, 2011

Found me a Woody

Wood frogs are an interesting species. They are much more terrestrial then many other types of frogs. They typically live in wooded habitats and often breed in temporary pools instead of ponds or lakes. This allows then to stay away from predators that are often found in and around larger and more permanent wetlands, like large fish and wading birds such as heron and egrets.
Wood frogs are a northern species that can survive temperatures below freezing. They do not typically hibernate in the water, instead they usually over winter in top soil or under brush piles. They survive freezing temperatures by storing up urea in their tissues prior to the on slot of winter. Their liver also begins to convert glycogen into large quantities of glucose as the temperatures begin to fall. The urea and glucose act as a kind of antifreeze allowing the frog to survive the winter as long as over 65% of their body water does not freeze.


7 comments:

Joyful said...

Wonderful photos of this frog. It's amazing to me how they can survive in below freezing temperatures.

Birgitta - foto CHIP said...

A frog in the spa :)

VioletSky said...

he is also very well camouflaged!

Karin / Southern Meadows said...

A very informative post. I didn't know that their were frogs that could survive freezing temps!

Snap said...

I love frogs and learn more everyday! Thanks and happy critter day!

Twiggy said...

Great shots! The times when I've tried to photograph frogs, they disappear. You really have to sneak up tom them without making a sound. Your frogs are superb!

Mama Zen said...

Magnificent shots! I love wood frogs.