Giving leopard frogs a head start
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Published source details
Sprankle T. (2008) Giving leopard frogs a head start. Endangered Species Bulletin, 33, 15-17.
Published source details Sprankle T. (2008) Giving leopard frogs a head start. Endangered Species Bulletin, 33, 15-17.
Actions
This study is summarised as evidence for the following.
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Head-start amphibians for release Action Link |
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Head-start amphibians for release
A replicated, before-and-after study in 1995–2007 of chiricahua leopard frogs Lithobates chiricahuensis at the Phoenix Zoo, USA (Sprankle 2008) found that head-starting and releasing tadpoles and froglets increased populations. With releases, some populations had recovered enough to produce hundreds of egg masses by 2001. By 2007, the number of ponds where frogs had become or were becoming established had increased four-fold. In captivity, over 90% of egg masses survived to froglets or late stage tadpoles, compared to only about 5% reaching metamorphosis in the wild. Egg masses were collected from the wild from the late 1990s. Between 1995 and 2007, over 7,000 tadpoles and frogs were head-started. Froglets and late stage tadpoles were released back to the wild.
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