Species Management Plan for Rana pipiens & Rana catesbieana on the Durango Nature Studeis Nature Center Property
CJ Harrison
Durango, CO
2011
Field condition sheet: CJ Harrison
Land owner objectives:
Durango Nature Studies wants to manage their 140 acre property in for leopard frogs, particularly wanting to get rid of invasive populations of bullfrogs (see Figure 1). Animas high school was invited to study how many bull frogs and how many leopard frogs were living in the pond. The main reason they were looking for bullfrogs is because bullfrogs are invasive and have a tendency to take away from the Leopard frogs habitat and food sources. Bullfrogs are also bad because there were placed in the Top 100 most invasive species list.
Some activities that occur on the property of Durango Nature Studies are the summer program for kids who are interested in nature and/or want to learn more about specific animals that they have there. They offer different seasons where they do different things like look at different animals and study birds and different types of trees.
Animas High School was invited to study the population of leopard frogs to the population of Bullfrogs. They had grabbed nets and went down to the pond where all the frogs were and attempted to catch as many frogs as possible. They then marked down what type of frog it was and whether it was male or female and released it back into the pond. Students also did not find many Bullfrogs as they did Leopard frogs. (see Figure 2)
Animas High School's budget is $2,000and we intend on using it for studying the frogs and marking them with jell like stuff to tell that we already caught it. We also used some temperature gauges to tell what the temperature the frogs were at and what they needed to be at. (see Figure 7)
Plan development: CJ Harrison
The Northern Leopard frogs are known by their pale green bodies, and large black spots all around their back. Northern Leopard frogs are commonly known to live in “damp undergrowth of temperate forests.” There are also three different types of habitats that Northern Leopard Frogs have. They have winter habitats which freeze up the lakes, ponds, and streams. Another habitat is the summer habitat which allows adult Leopard Frogs to feed in upland areas. Finally, the Northern Leopard frogs have the tadpole habitat which takes 3 months to breed tadpoles in shallow ponds. As I was saying earlier, Northern Leopard Frogs go to upland areas to feed and live in the summer. They eat insects such as mayflies, dragon flies and stone flies which all live in polluted and unpolluted water (see figures 5&6).Another reason why they go upland is because they love the frequent grassy meadows where the grass can be from several inches to a foot tall. Also, in the winter, the Leopard frogs hibernate under water in ponds, rivers and streams. Which at this point introduce predaceous fish. As you know, it is a lot harder to run in the snow than on solid ground. In the winter time the Northern Leopard frogs also have this trouble. When it is cold outside with low temperatures, the Leopard frogs move about more slowly than in the summer time. And as for the tadpole habitat the Leopard frogs nest/ store their eggs in shallow ponds where they mate. Another thing is that the Northern Leopard frog needs a wide range of habitats in close proximity because of their complicated life histories. The Movement of the frogs and the pond spacing are two of the most important factors in management of the Northern Leopard frogs. Both of these factors are likely to greatly affect population density for species and other amphibians. Each individual pond could be more or less isolated, depending on how far it lays between the other ponds
The Bullfrog is known to be “greenish-brown in color, spotted, have gold or brown eyes and have a broad flat head and body” (http://allaboutfrogs.org/info/species/bullfrog.html) Bullfrogs live around standing ponds and slow-moving water. They usually are found by the shore of the water but when the water temperature is warm then they are usually found in the water. “Adult Bullfrogs are omnivorous carnivores that, generally, eat anything that can be captured and swallowed” The diet of bullfrogs has had numerous concerns, and each “reflects the opportunistic feeding strategy of the species” (http://el.erdc.usace.army.mil/emrrp/emris/EMRIS_PDF/Bullfrog.pdf ). a major contributor to their diet consist of “snails, insects, crayfish, fish, frogs, tadpoles, reptiles, and occasionally mammals and birds.” (http://el.erdc.usace.army.mil/emrrp/emris/EMRIS_PDF/Bullfrog.pdf) Although Bullfrogs are very invasive, they also need their protection to escape from predators. “many descriptions of bullfrog habitat have emphasized the importance of heavily vegetated banks. Also, bullfrogs are a “warm-adapted” species (Bachman 1969). “eggs will not hatch and larvae will not develop below 15 degrease Celsius” (Moore 1942; Viparina and Just 1975). “The critical factors necessary for breeding are permanent, calm water and air temperatures above 27 degrease Celsius. (see Figures 3&4)
Basic information about the Durango Nature Studies are, “As an integral member of our community, Durango Nature Studies inspires a positive personal relationship with our natural world through outdoor learning, thereby promoting enhanced respect for nature.” (http://www.durangonaturestudies.org/about.htm). As they also say, “Durango Nature Studies has been bringing hands-on, outdoor, nature education to the Four Corners Community since 1994.”
As for a bigger look of Durango Nature Studies, they have a pond of approximately 150 fett long and 50 feet wide that they allow for Northern Leopard frogs to live in, they Also have the Florida River flowing down through the property. They have a 140 acre land where they have summer camps and where they can teach people about the property and about the animals.
Biography:
The Leopard Frogs – Terry Gampper - December 18, 2009
http://www.anapsid.org/leopardfrog.html (year 2000)
Promoting Leopard fogs and getting rid of Bullfrogs: CJ Harrison
The plan suggested will affect the Durango Nature Studies property by catching bullfrogs, but also catching leopard frogs is problematic. Animas High School students are going to set traps around the DNS property. Students will then check the traps and release the bullfrogs elsewhere. AHS also wants to get rid of the bullfrogs because they are a invasive species. On the DNS property, Animas High School students saw that most of the land was covered in dirt along with tons of brush with a pond and river. All these factors make for a great habitat for frogs, mice, gophers, fish, etc. Students have come to realize that when you put traps down, your just as likely to catch other types of species which decreases their population.
Animas High School students will monitor and manage this plan by going out once every year and counting the amount of leopard frogs. They can also count the amount of bullfrogs and decide whether the bullfrog population has decreased or increased. The students can also monitor the leopard frogs by marking them with gel-like substance. After this process, AHS will be able to tell if the leopard frogs population is increasing or decreasing.
Animas High students will be able to tell this plan is successful by seeing if the bullfrog population has decreased over time. This will be measured by how many leopard frog to bullfrog populations exist over a three year time span. During those three years, AHS can check the population of the leopard frogs to see if they are increasing.
Figure 1:
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Species Management Plan Project Reflection
CJ Harrison
What we had done in our research leading up to our Management Plan was that we had conducted field research where we went out to the Durango Nature Studies property and attempted to catch both Bullfrogs and Northern Leopard Frogs. We analyzed our data to see how many bullfrogs we had caught compared to the Northern Leopard Frogs. While we were at the DNS property we had also collected vertebrate samples from the pond and the Florida river that ran through the property. From there we found out how many vertebrates were living in the pond and River. When we found out the differences we created charts to compare the numbers and what the living conditions were like. We then created species management and monitoring plan to help sustain the living habits of the Northern Leopard Frogs and drive the Bullfrogs out of the pond to reduce the distinction of the Leopard Frogs.
This article was basically about the causes of invasive species and what effect they can have on an ecosystem. One example that was given was that Bullfrogs are an invasive species because they’re so big where some types of fish won’t eat them and they are bigger than most other frogs so they feed on smaller frogs. Overall this article defines invasive species to be aggressive and territorial.
I do think that Bullfrogs should be a concern in Colorado because their invasive and they ruin ecosystems by feeding on things that are smaller than them and if they were to take over the other frog populations then they will be on the streets and highways and pretty much making it a hazard for drivers passing through countries. Also invasive species are a problem globally because as I said, they can ruin ecosystems and totally change the resources we get from the outdoors and affect other animal’s habitats as well. Overall, I really think the research we have been doing over the past 8 weeks has been effective because we took a problem and resolved it by creating a plan to get rid of the Bullfrogs.
A couple things I took away from this project were getting to know how to write a scientific paper such as the plan development. It was the first paper we did for this project and I didn’t do really well on it but I learned how to make it better by getting revisions that helped me understand what I needed to do. I also learned a little about ecology by getting to learn more about the eco system and how it functions within an environment. One thing I will definitely take and go on with it in the future is learning about how different animals and amphibians live and what effects they have in the world. So far I have continued to learn how to read scientific literature, use a guide or key to identify species, have a greater awareness of the issues surrounding invasive species, I have gained a better presentation level and am able to speak more comfortably around students and people, I had struggle learning about analyzing scientific data with math but I got through it and was able to complete our assignment. Finally, I learned how to create charts and graphs using excel.
