When you think of frogs, what comes to mind? Maybe you think of the way their calls ring out when rain is on the way. You may feel squeamish about them, or you may have encountered an invasive frog that you worry will harm your family dog. Most of us aren’t aware of how frogs benefit us and how we can support their survival.

Biologist E.O. Wilson, in his book “Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life” (2016), invites us to look on frogs and salamanders as analogous to our often celebrated bird species. The frog and salamander exist among the leaves and mud underfoot or climbing and hopping among tree and shrub branches. Many are nocturnal, hiding during the day, and migrating to nearby wetlands and ponds to reproduce. The frogs that are native to Florida are harmless and beneficial to us. Like birds, frog songs ring out individually and as choruses, sometimes with specific calls for mating and for rain. As with birdsong, you can learn to identify the species of frog by the call it makes. In fact, frogs were the first land animals with vocal chords, and for 180 million years they have been singing (American Museum of Natural History)!

The UF Florida Museum Division of Herpetology shares a collection of Florida Frog Calls recordings.

Listen to the deep, rattling call of the gopher frog, a Florida Species of Special Concern that inhabits the burrows of the threatened gopher tortoise. Hear the chirps the green treefrog makes when rains are approaching, and learn how to tell this species apart from the invasive Cuban treefrog. Exclaim in surprise at how bird-like the call of the oak toad sounds!

“Frogs do for the night what birds do for the day: They give it a voice. And the voice is a varied and stirring one that ought to be better known.” — Archie Carr

Frogs and us: why protect frogs?

About 27 species of frogs are native to Florida, with 14 of these species plus three invasive species occurring in South Florida (UF Wildlife – Johnson Lab). Frogs contribute to medicine, our food web, and our ecosystem health (Robinson 2023).

The chemicals frogs produce have been and are the subject of medical and pharmaceutical research. Scientists are racing against species’ extinctions to learn more about the medical uses of compounds frogs secrete from their skin and parotoid glands or store in their muscle and bones (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute 2017). Many of these compounds have been used in traditional medicine to treat infections, cancer, heart disorders, pain, and other ailments.

Frogs play a vital role in the food chain that we rely on. Their tadpoles consume algae and can help to  regulate damaging algal blooms. Frogs also eat insects, including many we consider pests, like flies, grasshoppers, mosquitoes, slugs, snails, and termites. To birds, fish, and snakes, frogs are an important food source. If you see frogs in your backyard, it’s a good sign of a healthy, Florida-Friendly LandscapeTM.

When frogs aren’t doing well, it sends a signal to us that our ecosystems are polluted or otherwise imbalanced. Frogs live in our uplands and our wetlands, where they come into contact with contaminants in our soils and water. Their skin readily absorbs bacteria and chemicals, making them vulnerable to the contaminants we release into the environment and alerting us to the need for change.

Why are we losing so many frogs?

Amphibians, including frogs and salamanders, are the most threatened class of vertebrates, according to the 2nd Global Amphibian Assessment (Luedtke et al. 2023). Of the 8,011 amphibian species evaluated, 40.7% are globally threatened. The biggest causes have been disease and habitat loss, though climate change is now also of increasing concern. Since 1980, scientists have documented 37 amphibian species that have gone extinct, and another 185 are considered Critically Endangered Possibly Extinct.

Beyond the values we know now for us as humans, frogs have as-yet-unknown value as part of the web of life here on Earth. Our native Florida frogs are beneficial to us and they greet life with song!

What can we do?

• Landscape professionals: talk with your clients about wildlife-friendly practices, including limiting the use of chemicals in the landscape, maintaining shoreline buffers around waterbodies, and protecting preserve areas abutting clients’ property. Your clients may have more interest in conservation than expected (Kalauni et al. 2024)!
• Contribute to citizen science projects around the health of frog populations near where you live. For example, you can record your observations on iNaturalist or participate in a nearby FrogWatch USA Chapter.
• Learn about invasive frogs, their identification, and ways to make your yard less attractive to them (Johnson and Ober 2024). Shutting off outdoor lights, keeping watch on your pets outdoors, bringing in pet bowls at night, and other measures can lessen other wildlife conflicts too.
• Support preservation of upland and wetland natural habitats for frogs and other plants and animals.
• Share your enthusiasm and get other people curious about the frogs in their area by volunteering with an environmental studies center, natural history museum, your local UF or FAMU extension office, or another educational program in your area.
• Keep learning and exploring the world around you!

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