Frogs are practically world conquers. Besides their ancestors being here even before the dinosaurs, frogs live almost anywhere. From some of the highest mountains, up to 26,000+ feet, down to sea level. And in 6 continents; the only one missing the party is Antarctica. Not only that, some species are well adapted for desert life, some for aquatic, but most for tropical and subtropical worlds. Life isn’t easy, frogs have to deal with being ectothermic, relying on outside environmental temperatures to help regulate their own internal body temperature, and being subject to easy water loss. No wonder most species live in warm tropic environments, where the air is highly saturated, or high up in the mountains. But there are a few who like to be outside the box, sort of speak, and live in the Arctic Circle.
Okay, so about body temperature. They don’t do so well in temperatures above 100˚F or below 32˚F. Frogs still have learned to cope though and we will get to that in a second. Frogs tend to function under internal temperatures of 37-96/97˚F. For those in warmer and more southern climates, average body temperatures are around 81˚F, and for those in cooler temperate climates, average body temperatures are around 75˚F. Most frogs tend to like it hot! They behaviorally and physically react to their outer environment to reach body temperatures dangerously close to 100˚F. They do this because muscle and digestion works more efficiently at higher temperatures. A frog may move between shady and full sun areas throughout the day in order to adjust their body temperatures, or even change the shade of their skin (darker to absorb heat and lighter to reflect it), or even the way they position their bodies. Some bullfrogs lift their bellies off the ground when they want to cool off and rest them down when they want to absorb some of that geothermal heat. During cold temperatures and hibernation some species tuck in their limbs in attempt to reduce exposed surface area of their skin and therefore reducing the rate they lose heat. If it gets too cold a frog from temperate regions will gradually lower its body temperature and position its self under leaves or ground litter to hibernate. On the other hand if it gets too hot, like in deserts, a frog will burrow itself underground and wait until nightfall or rainstorms to come back out.
Sometimes frogs purposefully raise their body temperature above its normal, comfortable range to induce a fever. A frog will only do this though if it’s got some type of bacterial or viral infection, because the fever will help the immune system kick the infection’s butt. Sometimes frogs contract a herpes-like virus that leads to cancer. So, it is important to help the immune system when the frog can.
When it comes to water frogs can’t live without it. They rely on it too much, for fighting water loss, breeding, and maintaining salt balances. Another reason why many frogs live in humid environments. All frogs live near some source of water, whether it is ponds, streams, or pools. For species in dry, hot climates, they may not come out of their burrow and estivation for years until the rains return. Then they have only a short time while the earth is saturated to resupply on water and food. After they will return underground. Some species that live like this shed layers of skin and use it with mucus to form cocoons around themselves and store water.
Some species even form a kind-of symbiotic relationship with other species. R. dorsalis greatly depends on the leaf-cutting ants and their partially flooded nests for their tadpoles’ food source. X.truncata benefits getting a food source eating arum berries and coca fruits and in return these fruits benefit by having their seeds dispersed and coated with highly nutritious fertilizer. It is also the dependence on a particular environment that can be a handicap to frogs as well. Frogs that are too depended on one particular environment are said to be endemic and they are some of the frog species with the greatest risk of becoming extinct. Other species, however, willingly travel distant journeys and adapt to new surroundings.
Works Cited:
Behler, J. L., & Behler, D. A. (2005). Frogs: A chorus of colors. New York, NY: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
Beltz, E. (2005). Frogs: inside their remarkable world. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books Ltd.
Mongabay.com
Rhett A. Butler - San Francisco, CA.
1999-2008.
Mongabay.com
Rhett A. Butler - San Francisco, CA.
1999-2008.