Weekly Update on My Wood Frog Vocalization Experiment :)

[frogluver]

Oh, I almost forgot!!! You'll never guess what happened on Monday!

So I put back Lil’ Piggy, the frog I just got done testing with, into his normal living quarters with Lil’ Porker, the first frog I tested. Lil’ Porker, (who had been croaking for the past four nights), seemed happy to have his tank mate back, as the two frogs sat together for several hours. Well, at around noon—one of the times in which mating activity is most active during the WF breeding season—Lil’ Porker decides to grasp Lil’ Piggy around the waist, as if he were a female! Then, Lil’ Porker starts to croak (Piggy didn’t call any release calls, but tried to squirm away which he was successful at doing lol).

Lil’ Porker was displaying signs of mating behavior! The conditions from Test A (the cold temps, humidity, etc..) must have made him think it was time to hibernate. And then when I brought him back to normal conditions last week, must have thought “hibernation” was over and it was thus time to mate. I've never experienced mating behaviors among my Wood frogs or in keeping WF’s over the past 7 years. Maybe this discovery means there is a way to successfully breed Wood frogs in captivity, which—as far to my knowledge—has never been done before.

Pretty cool or what?

[Poly]

Oh, I almost forgot!!! You'll never guess what happened on Monday!

So I put back Lil’ Piggy, the frog I just got done testing with, into his normal living quarters with Lil’ Porker, the first frog I tested. Lil’ Porker, (who had been croaking for the past four nights), seemed happy to have his tank mate back, as the two frogs sat together for several hours. Well, at around noon—one of the times in which mating activity is most active during the WF breeding season—Lil’ Porker decides to grasp Lil’ Piggy around the waist, as if he were a female! Then, Lil’ Porker starts to croak (Piggy didn’t call any release calls, but tried to squirm away which he was successful at doing lol).

Lil’ Porker was displaying signs of mating behavior! The conditions from Test A (the cold temps, humidity, etc..) must have made him think it was time to hibernate. And then when I brought him back to normal conditions last week, must have thought “hibernation” was over and it was thus time to mate. I've never experienced mating behaviors among my Wood frogs or in keeping WF’s over the past 7 years. Maybe this discovery means there is a way to successfully breed Wood frogs in captivity, which—as far to my knowledge—has never been done before.

Pretty cool or what?

Wow that's awesome! I find it odd he didn't make any release calls, my large male toad, Bufo, if is even tapped by his tank mate on the back will make release calls! Hmm, maybe the "hibernation" conditions it experienced (even though they were meant as mating) made it, like you say, think that it's winter, then the normal conditions of it's terrarium were mating season conditions, so you've been trying soo hard to replicate the mating season conditions of WILD wood frogs by lowering the temperature when actually your TAME-ish wood frogs thought their terrarium was the mating season, after of course the older conditions. So, maybe if you take the group of them, cool them all down for a week, then get their regular viv set-up with mating call recordings playing, and re-introduce them, you'll get/see/record some vocalizations! Ohhh this is soo exciting (!), I wish I was in Alaska with you documenting all of this on my video camera!!!

[Poly]

Haha, np ! Yes, I have to agree.....and that's were Test B (testing the frogs for vocalizations/phonotaxis in normal living conditions) comes in lol !

So Test B will be in their regular vivarium?

I want to try this with my chubby frogs, becuase just yesterday, my smaller chubby (Newman) grabber my larger one (Bobber) and wouldn't let go until bobber burried into the soil with newman still on her (I guess...?) back. [Couldn't find my camera! ] Female chubby frogs are larger than males, so it makes sense because Boober is much larger!

So imagine the response I may get if I put them in a rain chamber!

[frogluver]

Wow that's awesome! I find it odd he didn't make any release calls, my large male toad, Bufo, if is even tapped by his tank mate on the back will make release calls! Hmm, maybe the "hibernation" conditions it experienced (even though they were meant as mating) made it, like you say, think that it's winter, then the normal conditions of it's terrarium were mating season conditions, so you've been trying soo hard to replicate the mating season conditions of WILD wood frogs by lowering the temperature when actually your TAME-ish wood frogs thought their terrarium was the mating season, after of course the older conditions. So, maybe if you take the group of them, cool them all down for a week, then get their regular viv set-up with mating call recordings playing, and re-introduce them, you'll get/see/record some vocalizations! Ohhh this is soo exciting (!), I wish I was in Alaska with you documenting all of this on my video camera!!!

Haha, I know! Maybe he didn't feel entirely threatened?

Exactly!! And now I think I've totally confused my frogs hahaha ;D!! Maybe I'll get some more vocalizations with Test B.....but at least I've recorded some already from Test A . Ah, I know me too!!!

[frogluver]

So Test B will be in their regular vivarium?

I want to try this with my chubby frogs, becuase just yesterday, my smaller chubby (Newman) grabber my larger one (Bobber) and wouldn't let go until bobber burried into the soil with newman still on her (I guess...?) back. [Couldn't find my camera! ] Female chubby frogs are larger than males, so it makes sense because Boober is much larger!

So imagine the response I may get if I put them in a rain chamber!

Actually, it will be in the "testing tank" (the terrarium on the front page of FF). I separate the frogs one by one and experiment them individually, which allows me to monitor the results a bit easier. But, the conditions will resemble their normal range of living conditions.

You should definitely try it!! This is great Royce......you gotta fill me in on all the details when you do this!! Maybe soon you'll have baby Newmans and Bobbers ;D!

[frogluver]

Report for Frog 8, Test A

The first four days of this trial in my experiment were dedicated to the acclimation process: frog 8 (aka Digger) was left to adjust to the new conditions—conditions different from what the frog is used to— similar to the breeding season (49-54F temperatures and 50-75% humidity). The frog appeared to adjust to the experimental surroundings just fine, with a few rough edges. No crickets were observed consumed and the frog became rather bloated, which was highly noticeable by day 5. The bloat did not seem to be of major concern as there was no definite signs/evidence of liquid or air retention. Similar the Frogs 6 and 5, Frog 8 buried itself into the moss and was sluggish in movements (i.e. slow to react).

*After the acclimation process, the frog was then exposed to a series of Wood frog vocalizations for three days. These calls were played during 11:00am to 1:00pm and during 10:00pm to 12:00am. These are the times in which Wood frog vocalization is most active during the mating season, in late April and early May here in Fairbanks, AK. During this time the following observations were noted:*

•Day 5 (12/9/11): Frog found hidden under the moss before the experiment began on the left side of terrarium. 11:00a-1:00p Report: Frog changed position through the course of the test, but not in direction of sound source (frog remained on left side of tank) No vocalizations. 10:00p-12:00p report: Frog remained hidden in moss and did not change location. No vocalizations. Note at about 11:30, stereo had a technical issue and stopped playing vocalizations for about 7 min.

•Day 6 (12/10/11): Frog remained hidden under the moss, not located. Light on for 10 hrs. 11:00a-1:00p Report: Stereo again had technical issue at about 12:20 and did not play vocalizations for 2 min. No phonotaxis observed. 10:00p-12:00a report: The frog was very bloated, but does not appear to be retaining liquid in the bloat. Did not give frog any crickets as there were already some contained within the terrarium and also did not want to risk impaction (in concern for reason behind the bloat). Frog located on left end and moved 1in. but not in direction of sound source. Remained visible throughout test.

•Day 7 (12/11/11): Frog was not visible for most of the day. Light on for 10 hrs. Given 1 cricket, not observed eaten. 11:00a-1:00p report: No movement observed throughout test. No noteworthy observations. 10:00p-12:00a report: Located frog before test began and was found on left side of tank. After test was complete frog was found on right side of terrarium in which the sound source was located. Possible phonotaxis.

What are my thoughts: Based on the observations thus far, it is somewhat safe to conclude that the conditions presented for Test A cause the frogs to think it’s time to hibernate. Behaviors displayed by all three frogs include: sluggishness (slow to react), burying in the moss/soil, and weight gain or bloat. However, it is hard to make this a definite conclusion, as a few observations pose challenges. I also would like to note that the bloat observed could be a sign (or behavior) in which Wood frogs display in the wild, upon preparing for hibernation, by storing up fat in preserves.

[LazyEyedFroggie]

Woah..... I have a lot of catching up to do I'm sorry I've missed so much! I don't quite have time to read through it all now though. I'll be replying more thoroughly as soon as I can! I'm looking forward to reading

[frogluver]

Woah..... I have a lot of catching up to do I'm sorry I've missed so much! I don't quite have time to read through it all now though. I'll be replying more thoroughly as soon as I can! I'm looking forward to reading

Haha, don't worry about it ;D!

[frogluver]

Here are some oscilliograms (the graph traced by an oscillograph, which measures frequency levels) and spectrograms (a time-varying spectral representation that shows how the spectral density of a signal varies with time) of the calls from Frog 5 that I was able to record. The graphs show frequency levels and amplitude in addition to time. These graphs will allow me to analyze the calls in depth and compare them to calls made within the wild, during the mating season. I used a free online program to graph these vocalizations—SoundRuler. The graph on the left are advertisement calls and the graph on the right are release calls.

I’ll write up a more detailed report when more time allows, but here is this for now. I would have included the vocalizations themselves, but currently I’m am unaware of how I would share them, being that they are sound files hehe.

[frogluver]

I just wanted to quickly state that I caused my frog to give out the release calls. This was done simply by holding the frog. I then recorded the release calls that were given.

[Heatheranne]

Awesome!!!

[frogluver]

Awesome!!!

Haha, yup !!

[frogluver]

Rrrrr, I'm a week behind on this :P. Well, here is an update on the last frog (my smallest juvenile) I tested for Test A--Test B here I come !

Report for Frog 9, Test A

This experiment was run during the week of December 12 through the 18. During the first four days of the experiment, the frog was left to acclimate to the new conditions, specified as followed: 50-55F temperatures and approximately 50-70% humidity (it is important to note that over the course of this experiment, the temps and humidity occasionally went over the set range). The frog appeared to acclimate more smoothly than expected. The frog appeared to be a little stressed as no crickets were observed eaten. As observed with the other 3 frogs, this frog also became a little bloated. Behaviors observed include hiding in moss, slow reactions, and skittish behavior. When brought back into normal living conditions, the frog came back to its normal behaviors.

*After the acclimation process, the frog was then exposed to a series of Wood frog vocalizations for three days. These calls were played during 11:00am to 1:00pm and during 10:00pm to 12:00am. These are the times in which Wood frog vocalization is most active during the mating season, in late April and early May here in Fairbanks, AK. During this time the following observations were noted:*

•Day 5 (12/16/11): Before 11:00, frog was located on right side of terrarium. 11:00a-1:00p report: Some movement observed (and recorded on video) but not in direction of sound source. Movement appeared to be adjacent or even away from the direction of sound. 10:00p-12:00a report: Experiment was “accidently” started at a later time (10:54p). Stopped experiment at normal timing—12:00am. No movement observed. Light was on for approximately 10 hrs.

•Day 6 (12/17/11): Hid in the moss on the left side of the terrarium. 11:00a-12:00p report: No movement observed. Frog remained hidden throughout whole trial. 10:00-12:00a report: No movement observed once again. Light was left on for about 11hrs.

•Day 7 (12/18/11): Located before experiment; was found hidden in moss on the right side of the terrarium. 11:00a-12:00p report: Video shows movement however, I'm unsure if this was phonotaxis, as the video does not quite capture movement towards sound. 10:00p-12:00a report: No movement observed; stayed hidden within the moss. Light on for 10.5 hrs.

What are my thoughts: The conclusions I made from the previously tested frog (Frog 8) hold true here:

Report for Frog 8, Test A........that the conditions presented for Test A cause the frogs to think it’s time to hibernate. Behaviors displayed by all three frogs include: sluggishness (slow to react), burying in the moss/soil, and weight gain or bloat. However, it is hard to make this a definite conclusion, as a few observations pose challenges. I also would like to note that the bloat observed could be a sign (or behavior) in which Wood frogs display in the wild, upon preparing for hibernation, by storing up fat in preserves.

[frogluver]

Also, here is a rough outline of the experimental set-up for Test A. It should be easier to follow along with my notes, i.e. what it means when I say “frog was found on left side of terrarium”.

[frogluver]

Update on the experimental situation:

So I have successfully completed Test A, reproducing mating conditions. Overall observations? Some rare signs of phonotaxis in frogs 8 and possibly 9, swollen vocal sacs in frog 5, and 1 croak from frog 6. However, after frog 5 was tested, there was an explosion of activity in the normal living conditions terrarium. For the past 4 weeks, this frog as been vocalizing almost every other night and has twice tried to mate with his tank mate, frog 6 which is also a male. This gave me reason to believe that the conditions that I presented in Test A, which were meant to be the mating conditions, in fact manipulated the frogs into believing it was time to hibernate. This makes sense as I had the frogs in a warm environment, and then brought them into a colder environment. Also, when brought down into Test A conditions, all 4 frogs became sluggish, buried into the moss, and became slightly or significantly bloated (which they soon lost upon being brought back up into the normal living conditions). These behaviors are characteristic to pre-hibernation behaviors seen in the wild.

Now I am ready to undertake Test B, in which I test the frogs for phonotaxis and vocalization responses in normal living conditions (or summer conditions). These conditions include 65F-75F temperatures, 60-70% humidity, and 15 hours of daylight. But before I dive into this test, I need to take care of some heating issues. Test B is expected to start next week (Jan. 2, 2012).
What are my predictions for Test B? Well….I am quite hopeful that there will be some vocalization activity and phonotaxis that will occur, but then again I’m not entirely sure. We shall soon discover!

Coming soon to this thread…
A video of the possible phonotaxis observed and recorded from Test A! And recordings of the vocalizations gathered outside of the experiment! Stay tuned lolol !!

[Heatheranne]

Great job, Autumn! This is awesome! Can't wait to see what happens next .

[frogluver]

Great job, Autumn! This is awesome! Can't wait to see what happens next .

Thanks Heather !! Me too!!

[frogluver]

Other updates:

Frog 5 (Lil' Porker) has croaked a few times this past week. Here is a record of vocalization activity:

12/23/11: 2 croaks in the morning at 6:45 am. Temperature was 65F, humidity unknown. Snow was in the forecast.
12/25/11: 2 croaks in the mornig at 6:30 am. Temp/hum unknown :P. There was heavy snow that day.
12/27/11: 5 chirps in the afternoon (between 12:30 am and 1:00 pm). Unsure if it was Lil' Porker or his tank mate Lil' Piggy (frog 6). Temp was 70F and humidity was 50%. Now snow in forecast, but cold temperatures.

On Monday, 12/26/11, upon spraying the terrarium, Lil' Porker tried to mate with Lil' Piggy. This time, Piggy gave out release calls. Porker let go.

[Poly]

Wow Autumn! I missed your last few posts, so much as happened since then! Your frogs seem to be cooperating with you more... Do you find the heavy snow is making them vocalize more frequently? I notice this with my toads, my large male croaks 4-5 times a night now, especially when it's snowing heavily.

[frogluver]

Wow Autumn! I missed your last few posts, so much as happened since then! Your frogs seem to be cooperating with you more... Do you find the heavy snow is making them vocalize more frequently? I notice this with my toads, my large male croaks 4-5 times a night now, especially when it's snowing heavily.

Haha, I know! It seems that ever since I completed Test A, the adults (especially Lil' Porker) have been more vocal . Yes, when it snows they tend to vocalize more. However, when it snows heavier than usual, their call intensity is high, (more louder) as opposed to when it snows lightly. They also vocalize when a cold front comes in, bringing negitive degree temps.