Why Frogs Count, and Why Michigan DNR Counts Them

The decline of mink frogs in Michigan is one of several trends the state’s Department of Natural Resources tracks with its annual Frog and Toad Survey. (Photo via Wikimedia/Creative Commons)

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The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is going to try to get an accurate count on the number of frogs in the state this spring.

The Frog and Toad Survey, now in its 20th year and second in longevity only to Wisconsin’s, depends on volunteers who will fan across the state to collect data that will be analyzed by the DNR Wildlife Division staff.

Volunteering as an observer offers a good chance to get outside and experience nature at one of 10 wetland sites across the state. The observers visit their assigned sites three times during spring, when frogs and toads are actively breeding.

Data collection include listening for calling frogs and toads at each site, identifying the species present and making an estimate of abundance.

DNR survey coordinator Lori Sargent said more volunteers are needed in all parts of the state.

“Please consider joining us for a fun, educational time every spring and adopt a route. The continued success of the program is dependent on strong volunteer support.”

Why do frogs count?

For one thing, their abundance – or scarcity – is a reflection of a region’s overall ecological health. The 20-year longitudinal study has given researchers a large, valuable data set that helps biologists identify population trends.

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“We’re now able to start watching trends and thinking about how to slow down some of the species’ declines,” Sargent said.

Frog, toad and other amphibian populations have been in decline worldwide since the 1980s due to habitat loss, pollution and collection. Michigan has 13 species of anurans (frogs and toads). Several of them have experienced declines or other population changes, according to the DNR’s website.

Of particular concern are declines over the past two decades in Fowler’s toads and mink frogs, two species that have a limited range in the state, unlike most of the other species that occur statewide.

If you’re volunteering for this project as a family, here are are few fun facts about frogs to share with your kids:

• Instead of drinking water, frogs soak it into their body through their skin.
• Frogs use their sticky, muscular tongue to catch and swallow food. Unlike humans, their tongue is not attached to the back of its mouth. Instead it is attached to the front, enabling the frog to stick its tongue out much further.
• Frogs can see forwards, sideways and upwards all at the same time. They never close their eyes, even when they sleep.
• Remarkably, frogs actually use their eyes to help them swallow food. When the frog blinks, its eyeballs are pushed downwards creating a bulge in the roof of its mouth. This bulge squeezes the food inside the frog’s mouth down the back of its throat.