On spring nights in wooded areas, you can hear the varied calls and vocalizations of frogs looking for mates. Some emerge from their winter sleep as early as March. Others come out as the spring days grow warm.
Some frogs have spent the cold winter months hidden from view, hibernating deep within pond mud where frost can’t penetrate. Others were hidden away under rocks and old autumn leaves.
Hiding near the ground’s surface isn’t so remarkable until you remember that frogs are cold-blooded creatures. Their body temperatures are close to the surrounding air. They have a variety of fascinating strategies to manage their internal body temperatures and moisture levels.
Frogs cease activity when the surrounding air temperature is too cold for their bodies to function. North and Central American frogs are active at atmosphere temperatures between 37 degrees and 96 degrees Fahrenheit. Most species are active during the most “frog-friendly” times of spring and summer.
As autumn sets in and the air temperatures begin to cool, frogs must find ways to survive the coming cold and freezing temperatures. Many frogs go the simple route and just bury themselves in the mud. They will stay in the mud and hibernate until the air temperature is well above freezing. Then they climb out of the mud and start looking for a mate.
But there are other species who take a more complicated route. They freeze themselves.
Frozen Frogs
As the weather cools in late summer and early autumn, the body of certain frogs will produce an abundance of glucose. Glucose or glycogen is the same antifreeze type substance that enables other animals such as some fish, amphibians, reptiles, and insects to survive freezing cold temperatures.
The glucose is concentrated in several organs, including the heart, liver, and kidneys. Glycose protects these important organs from damage. The glucose stops the water in the organs from forming damaging ice crystals. These organs are also among the first of the frog’s organs to thaw.
Frogs can lower their body temperatures over several hours. Rapid freezing, like putting it into a household freezer, would probably cool it too fast. It also takes several hours to thaw out from a frozen state.
Those species that can freeze solid have more choices of where they can hibernate. They can hibernate on land, in leaf litter, or under rocks.
Several North American speceis are freeze tolerant. The wood frog, the spring peeper, the chorus frog, and the gray tree frog are all known to live through subzero temperatures in the winter. These are the earliest of the North American species to emerge after the cold weather of winter.
When hearing the peep of Spring Peepers in spring, remind yourself that this little frog was frozen stiff not too long ago.
Citizen Science and Nature Study
As early as March, you can find some species of frogs thawing out and becoming active. Spring is also the season of heavy mating action. Your local pods and vernal pools can be hotbeds of reproduction.
Some environmental centers and organization host frog watching activities. Environmental centers also host “Toad Crossing” volunteer nights. Basically, it is helping frogs and toads cross the road to get to the ponds on the other side. Yes, there is a joke in there somewhere.
If you have Anna Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study (on Amazon.com), she talks about spring peepers on pages 177 – 180.
See How to Tell Tadpoles from Salamander Larva
More Posts About Animals in Winter
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How Can Moose Stand in the Snow and Their Feet Not Freeze?
Hibernation is Suspended Animation
A Chipmunk’s Winter Sleep (torpor and Hibernation)