Last Thursday, April 23, our herp class made a brief stop to Miami University's formal gardens to check our turtle traps. Although the traps proved unsuccessful, we were still able to catch a number of green frog (Rana clamitans) tadpoles such as this one. The weather was fairly warm, about 70 degrees, and slightly breezy. The tadpoles were hidden among the leaf litter in one of the small ponds, and were fairly easy to catch. This was not very surprising since green frogs tend to hang around shores of ponds, and since they breed in April, there were plenty of these tadpoles in a fairly small area. As tadpoles, they tend to feed on a variety of organic debris, including algae, and this particular pond was abundant in leaves/decaying organic matter. The tadpoles can take a fairly long time to mature, and some even overwinter and metamorphose the following year. Once they become mature their diet drastically changes and they primarily become carnivores, consuming almost anything they can fit into their mouth.
These particular tadpoles were surprisingly large. From tip to tail they were about 4 inches long and had a very plump body. While many were blended in well with the surrounding leaf litter, they were still very vulnerable, as we were able to grab them barehanded out of the water. The fact that breeding probably occurred just a few weeks ago might explain why they were still so abundant.
(Matt OToole, Miami University)
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