Spring peeper

The spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) is a small chorus frog widespread throughout the eastern United States and eastern Canada. It prefers permanent ponds due to its advantage in avoiding predation; however, it is very adaptable with respect to the habitat it can live in. In northern regions, the frog is able to endure below freezing temperatures due to the capacity of its liver to exude and flush the bloodstream with a glucose cryoprotectant which acts both as an anti-freeze in its blood, and allows organs like the heart to enter into a state of protected dormancy. The peeper earned its name from its chirping call, which marks the beginning of spring. Crucifer is derived from the Latin root meaning "cross-bearing", a reference to the cross-like pattern on the spring peeper's dorsal side. These chirping calls are significant for communication in mating as females choose their mates based on the frequency and volume associated with them. Satellite males who do not make any calls also strategically place themselves near those that make louder calls in an attempt to intercept females. Temperature plays a large role in when the spring peeper begins breeding as well as the duration of mating. Warm spells result in a massive increased calling rate.

The spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) is a small chorus frog widespread throughout the eastern United States and eastern Canada. It prefers permanent ponds due to its advantage in avoiding predation; however, it is very adaptable with respect to the habitat it can live in. In northern regions, the frog is able to endure below freezing temperatures due to the capacity of its liver to exude and flush the bloodstream with a glucose cryoprotectant which acts both as an anti-freeze in its blood, and allows organs like the heart to enter into a state of protected dormancy. The peeper earned its name from its chirping call, which marks the beginning of spring. Crucifer is derived from the Latin root meaning "cross-bearing", a reference to the cross-like pattern on the spring peeper's dorsal side. These chirping calls are significant for communication in mating as females choose their mates based on the frequency and volume associated with them. Satellite males who do not make any calls also strategically place themselves near those that make louder calls in an attempt to intercept females. Temperature plays a large role in when the spring peeper begins breeding as well as the duration of mating. Warm spells result in a massive increased calling rate.

Predation

Spring peepers predators include great diving beetle larvae (when in tadpole form), snakes, skunks, and larger frogs. Drying periods of ponds typically align before or during the metamorphic larval stage of spring peepers due to their slower growth rates. This suggests that higher mortality rates may be an effect. Salamanders and particular kinds of fish are seen to have profound impacts on the survivorship of spring peeper tadpoles. Each type of pond typically hosts different predators: temporary ponds host beetle larvae and dragonflies, intermediate ponds host salamanders and beetle larvae, and permanent ponds host fishes and dragonfly larvae. Each predator plays a role as a potential predator to the spring peeper, depending on which type of pond they inhabit. Spring peeper larvae are thought to be poor competitors in environments where other anurans are present. This is typically due to the larval spring peepers' small size and lower levels of activity. The small size of the larval allows them to be able to deal with their depressed resource density. Larval spring peepers harvest smaller amounts of resources, resulting in them having lower metabolic costs and a maintained growth rate. Spring peepers are said to occupy locations where predators have previously gotten ridden of bigger competitors.

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1377729260 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.