Lab 8 Fearsome Frogs & Invasive Species

Fearsome Frogs & Invasive Species

There are multiple things I have learned about the bullfrog after watching the posted video and doing some research. First, there wasn’t a thought in my mind that the bullfrog resided in Arizona and not for any particular reason, I just never thought of it as a place of immense amount of waters. I was surprised to find that not only are they residing here, but they are actually becoming an out of control problem, for not only Arizona, but multiple other states. The bullfrog seems like such an innocent species and to know that it can stomach a scorpion without a problem was astonishing. Cannibalism caught me by surprise too, when I think of a bullfrog, usually what comes to mind is flies for dinner.

As we learned in the beginning of the semester, removing an entire species from an area can have damaging effects and seems nearly impossible for this particular species. Introducing species into the habitat of the bullfrog seems to be a potential way to control the bullfrog population. Since bullfrog’s lay up to 20,000 eggs in huge sheets attempting to take care of the problem early on in their lives could wipe out a number of the surviving frogs (Harding). Bullfrogs have many predators, especially when they are young. Snakes, turtles, fish, and birds will eat both tadpoles and smaller frogs. Even adult Bullfrogs can be taken by larger animals, such as Great Blue Herons and Raccoons. This site also has a list of all of the bullfrog’s predators (Harding).

 

Another invasive species Arizona faces is Cheatgrass. This particular species is one that surrounds the immediate area I reside in. Many problems arise from the population of Cheatgrass including fires and our animal’s well-being. This nonnative grass is more abundant than ever in Flagstaff, spreading quickly here and through the rest of the West. As a cool season annual, cheatgrass develops and reproduces quickly in the spring and becomes tinder dry by early summer. The accumulation of these dense patches is fueling enormous fires in the Great Basin that are eliminating entire ecosystems (Waring). Mostly, cheatgrass becomes fuel to feed enormous fires which in all reality, affects everyone in that area immensely. In Flagstaff, you can see this species pretty much everywhere, along with all the seedlings that travel fast in the common winds of the area. It’s clear that this plant species is out of control and will take over whatever is in its way.

Work Cited

“Cheatgrass Invasion.” Land Use Land Cover Change Research Group.” Photograph. Web. 11 July 2014. <http://envstudies.brown.edu/research/LULCC/research/great_basin.html>

Deltamike. “Fire Starter Grass: Cheatgrass Linked to Increase in Great Basin Fire Events.” Decoded Science. 24 December 2012. Photograph. Web. 11 July 2014. <http://www.decodedscience.com/fire-starter-grass-cheatgrass-linked-to-increase-in-great-basin-fire-events/22880>

Harding, Jim. “Catesbeiana, Rana.” Bullfrog.Web. 11 July 2014. <http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/bullfrog.htm>

Waring, Gwendolyn. “Your cheatin’ grass.” AZDAILYSUN. 07 June 2011. Web. 11 July 2014. <http://azdailysun.com/news/local/your-cheatin-grass/article_07c820ab-a668-5d60-8af7-51cb4f261aa6.html>