Amphibians

Wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus)

NPS Photo / Kyle Burton

Vermont is home to 21 species of amphibians including five listed as the Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) in Vermont’s Wildlife Action Plan. Amphibians like frogs and salamanders can play a critical in evaluating ecosystem health. Amphibians are particularly sensitive to changes in their environment due to their ability to breathe through their skin (also known as cutaneous gas exchange) as well as their lungs. Scientists call these key sensitive species indicator species. A healthy and diverse population of amphibians indicates and healthy and diverse ecosystem.

At Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, amphibians are carefully protected through comprehensive amphibian inventories and the creation of special management areas around vernal pools. Established buffer zones around wetlands and streams help maintain water quality and provide habitat. Salamanders are monitored via citizen science projects with local schools. Their data informs resource managers, and helps the park understand how environmental changes are affecting these important indicator species

 

Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans)

NPS Photo / Ed Sharron

Winter Adapations

There are a number of frogs, toads, and salamanders that can be found in the Mount Tom Forest. Throughout the warm months, they reside in damp locations, avoiding the harsh daylight in order to keep their sensitive skin moist. The skin is relatively thin and must be kept moist to maintain function, leading to a semi, or fully, aquatic lifestyle. In winter months, amphibians have a variety of strategies to survive the harsh weather conditions in Vermont.

Aquatic frogs like the Green frog or American bullfrog will remain in bodies of water throughout the winter months. Because of their high oxygen needs, they half-submerge themselves or rest just on top of the lakebed to have a continuous flow of oxygen through the water into their skin.

Terrestrial frogs like the American toad or mole salamanders like the Spotted salamander will bury themselves in leaf litter or under rocks and logs, either finding pre-dug cavities in the earth or digging safely below the frost line.

Both Spring Peepers and Wood frogs have a special ability to freeze completely in winter. As terrestrial frogs, and not as adept at digging as their American toad cousins, both peepers and wood frogs will hide under logs or leaf litter throughout the winter months. But this alone does not protect them from below freezing temperatures. Within their small bodies remains a high concentration of glucose, acting as an anti-freeze for the frogs' vital organs. As ice crystals form between the cells in their body cavity, and their heart stops beating, the frog will appear frozen solid. However, as soon as the temperature warms above freezing, their bodies will thaw and resume normal activity. This adaptation enables both species to begin their breeding season much earlier than other amphibians. They become active in early spring, just as soon as the temperature begins consistently rising. They will breed early and lay their eggs in vernal pools created by melting snow and precipitation. The Spring Peepers loud chirps are some of the first sounds of spring!

 

Spotted salamander (Ambystoma Maculatum)

NPS Photo / Gillian Audier

Amphibian Species observed at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park

Salamanders

Jefferson Salamander (Ambystoma jeffersonium)

Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum)

Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus fuscus)

Northern Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea bislineata)

Red-spotted Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens)

Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus)

Frogs

American Toad (Bufo americanus)

Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)

Bullfrog (Rana catesbiana)

Green Frog (Rana clamitans)

Pickerel Frog (Rana palustris)

Northern Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens)

Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica)

Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor)