Strong Site Fidelity and a Variety of Imaging Techniques Reveal Around-the-Clock and Extended Activity Patterns in Crawfish Frogs (Lithobates areolatus)

Patch Dynamics Inform Management Decisions in a Threatened Frog Species

“…At the time of release, we recorded each frog's age (days since metamorphosis), snout-to-vent length (SVL, mm), and mass (g), and marked each frog with a cohort toe clip (coded to the group, ''captive-reared,'' and year). We released frogs at burrow entrances and monitored the fate of these animals using wildlife cameras (Bushnell Trophy Camt Model 119436; Bushnell Outdoor Products, Overland Park, KS) programmed to take photographs at one-minute intervals, around-theclock (Hoffman et al, 2010;Stiles et al, unpubl.). We released juveniles on 26 days from 24 June-1 August in batches of 1-12 frogs per release (n total ¼ 149 juveniles).…”

Upland Calling Behavior in Crawfish Frogs (Lithobates areolatus) and Calling Triggers Caused by Noise Pollution

“…On 11 March 2013, we monitored a single male frog (Frog 26) from winter emergence to the beginning of his breeding migration using simultaneous acoustic (as detailed above) and imaging techniques (Bushnell Trophy Cam Model #119436 wildlife cameras, set to photograph at 5 min intervals; Hoffman et al, 2010).…”

“…Male Crawfish Frogs are known to call from these burrows (Smith et al, 1948), but the function of upland calls is unknown. The isolation of Crawfish Frogs from each other, the multiyear fidelity they show to single burrows, and the accessibility of burrows to researchers provide an ideal context for exploring hypotheses about anuran behavior (Hoffman et al, 2010), including enigmatic non-reproductive calling. However, the rarity of these frogs and the difficulty of finding burrows in tallgrass prairies preclude obtaining large sample sizes, even in dense populations (Thompson, 1915;.…”

Chorusing Patterns of a Diverse Anuran Community, With an Emphasis on Southern Crawfish Frogs (Lithobates Areolatus Areolatus)

“…Breeding usually occurs between February and April, but the exact dates vary across the species' range and can be affected by weather (Bragg 1953;Busby and Brecheisen 1997;. Outside of the breeding season, adults live in and forage at the mouths of crawfish burrows (Hoffman et al 2010;Engbrecht and Lannoo 2012). These burrows are generally found in fields and grasslands and can be more than 1 m deep Williams et al 2012a).…”