State has wealth of amphibian life

Wild Georgia

I drove up to Smithgall Woods Conservation Area near Helen in North Georgia one evening last weekend to learn about Georgia’s amphibians, and ended up being treated to a rackety chorus of calling frogs.

First, some amphibian experts briefed us on the creatures. As any schoolchild knows, they noted, amphibians include frogs, toads and salmanders, creatures that spend one part of their lives in water and the other part on land. Amphibian, in fact, literally means “double life,” said Tara Muenz, coordinator for Georgia’s Adopt-a-Stream program.

Because their skin lacks a shell, scales or outer drier covering, most amphibians live in wet or damp environments to prevent dehydration, she noted. The presence of a diverse and abundant number of amphibians in a pond or stream indicates good water quality, she said.

Georgia is well-represented in the amphibian world, especially in salamanders. The state has 51 salamander species, more than any other state in the Southeast, which has more salamander species than any other region of the world. Most of the state’s species live in North Georgia, “so this is the world center for salamander diversity,” Muenz noted.

As for frogs, Georgia is home to 31 species —- ranking it third nationally, said Lora Smith, a herpetologist with the Jones Ecological Research Center in Baker County in South Georgia. North Georgia has about 14 species, but South Georgia has several more. (All toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads.)

Only male frogs make breeding calls, which are distinct for each species. Like male songbirds, frogs call to establish territory and attract females. They frequently call at night in a light rain or after a rain but are less likely to call during a full moon or on windy nights. Males and females both make alarm sounds —- usually when jumping away —- to warn fellow frogs of predators.

After listening to a CD (produced by state biologists) of several spring-breeding frogs, we armed ourselves with flashlights and headlamps and ventured over to a couple of ponds to see if we could hear or spy any of the hopping creatures. Frogs and toads were calling all around us —- a veritable cacophony of twangs, chirps, croaks and other quirky sounds emanating from the ponds. We heard the bellowing “jug o’rum” calls of bullfrogs; the long musical trills of American toads; the bleat-like whistles of Fowler’s toads; the banjo-like twangs of green frogs; and the clacking sounds, like marbles being knocked together, of Northern cricket frogs.

In the sky: The moon will be full Sunday. The Cherokee peoples called June’s full moon the “green corn moon,” says David Dundee, astronomer with Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum. Mercury and Mars are low in the east just before sunrise. Venus, shining brightly, is low in the east about two hours before sunrise. Jupiter rises out of the east before midnight. Saturn is high overhead at sunset and sets about midnight.