The Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) is a medium-sized anuran native to the northwestern United States. Body coloration ranges from brown or tan to brick red, usually overlaid with dark, ragged spots. Oregon spotted frogs can be distinguished from other native species by their relatively short hind legs, orange or red wash of color on underside of abdomen and legs, and upturned chartreuse eyes. They are associated with freshwater marshes and lakes where they breed in early spring in warm emergent vegetated shallows. The Oregon spotted frog is highly aquatic and reliant on connected seasonal habitats for breeding, summer foraging, and overwintering.
Oregon spotted frogs once occurred from southwest British Columbia to northeastern California. They appear to be lost from California and Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Hypothesized reasons for their decline include habitat loss and alteration, invasive predators and competitors, and water quality degradation. Most of known populations are currently located along the Cascade Range in central Oregon. The Oregon spotted frog was listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2014.
USGS Research – Status and Trends, Threat Assessments
The USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC) is the Pacific Northwest hub for the US Department of Interior’s Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI). Over the past 15 years, biologists in Dr. Michael Adams’s laboratory at FRESC have monitored occupancy patterns, abundance, and population demography to better understand the status of Oregon spotted frog in Oregon. Through a combination of observational, experimental, and modeling techniques, researchers examine relationships between Oregon spotted frog population trends and habitat variables to understand factors contributing to Oregon spotted frog declines.
USGS and partners have also evaluated interagency efforts to translocate Oregon spotted frogs. Long-term monitoring of relocated populations through mark-recapture efforts allows researchers to estimate probabilities of site colonization or extinction, as well as survival and growth rates for different sexes and life stages. This information can help managers plan for future translocations by understanding the underlying causes for a project’s success or failure.
USGS researchers disseminate their findings on Oregon spotted frog conservation to the public through various modes, including formal Oregon spotted frog status reports, peer-reviewed journal publications, and the popular media.
The Herpetology Lab works with a variety of academic, non profit, and federal and state agency partners. Results are disseminated in a variety of ways, including peer-reviewed journal publications, scientific meetings, public presentations, and the popular media.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Herpetological Research Team (FRESC)
If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.
Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) telemetry and habitat use at Crane Prairie Reservoir in Oregon, USA
Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) observations in Oregon (ver. 5.0, January 2023)
Capture-mark-recapture data for Oregon spotted frogs (Rana pretiosa) along the Deschutes River, Oregon, 2016-2019
Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) monitoring data for metademographic analysis 2010-2018, Oregon
Oregon Spotted Frog (Rana pretiosa) Monitoring at Jack Creek 2015-2018 (final)
Telemetry and habitat data for Oregon spotted frogs (Rana pretiosa) in Oregon, USA
If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.
Late season movement and habitat use by Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) in a large reservoir in Oregon, USA
Demography of the Oregon spotted frog along a hydrologically modified river
Estimation of metademographic rates and landscape connectivity for a conservation-reliant anuran
Effect of amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) on apparent survival of frogs and toads in the western USA
Late-season movement and habitat use by Oregon spotted frogs (Rana pretiosa) in Oregon, USA
Regional variation in drivers of connectivity for two frog species (Rana pretiosa and R. luteiventris) from the U.S. Pacific Northwest
Fitting N-mixture models to count data with unmodeled heterogeneity: Bias, diagnostics, and alternative approaches
A new parameterization for integrated population models to document amphibian reintroductions
Short-term occupancy and abundance dynamics of the Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) across its core range
Trends in amphibian occupancy in the United States
Surveys for presence of Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa): background information and field methods
Widespread occurrence of the chytrid fungus batrachochytrium dendrobatidis on oregon spotted frogs (rana pretiosa)
- Overview
The Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) is a medium-sized anuran native to the northwestern United States. Body coloration ranges from brown or tan to brick red, usually overlaid with dark, ragged spots. Oregon spotted frogs can be distinguished from other native species by their relatively short hind legs, orange or red wash of color on underside of abdomen and legs, and upturned chartreuse eyes. They are associated with freshwater marshes and lakes where they breed in early spring in warm emergent vegetated shallows. The Oregon spotted frog is highly aquatic and reliant on connected seasonal habitats for breeding, summer foraging, and overwintering.
Adult Oregon spotted frog at Dilman Meadows, near Wickiup Reservoir, OR(Credit: Brome McCreary, USGS. Free to use with credit to Brome McCreary; Ask permission before altering photo.) Oregon spotted frogs once occurred from southwest British Columbia to northeastern California. They appear to be lost from California and Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Hypothesized reasons for their decline include habitat loss and alteration, invasive predators and competitors, and water quality degradation. Most of known populations are currently located along the Cascade Range in central Oregon. The Oregon spotted frog was listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2014.
USGS Research – Status and Trends, Threat Assessments
The USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC) is the Pacific Northwest hub for the US Department of Interior’s Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI). Over the past 15 years, biologists in Dr. Michael Adams’s laboratory at FRESC have monitored occupancy patterns, abundance, and population demography to better understand the status of Oregon spotted frog in Oregon. Through a combination of observational, experimental, and modeling techniques, researchers examine relationships between Oregon spotted frog population trends and habitat variables to understand factors contributing to Oregon spotted frog declines.
USGS and partners have also evaluated interagency efforts to translocate Oregon spotted frogs. Long-term monitoring of relocated populations through mark-recapture efforts allows researchers to estimate probabilities of site colonization or extinction, as well as survival and growth rates for different sexes and life stages. This information can help managers plan for future translocations by understanding the underlying causes for a project’s success or failure.
USGS researchers disseminate their findings on Oregon spotted frog conservation to the public through various modes, including formal Oregon spotted frog status reports, peer-reviewed journal publications, and the popular media.
The Herpetology Lab works with a variety of academic, non profit, and federal and state agency partners. Results are disseminated in a variety of ways, including peer-reviewed journal publications, scientific meetings, public presentations, and the popular media.
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Herpetological Research Team (FRESC)
The Herpetological Research Team focuses on issues related to conservation and management of amphibians and other aquatic and semi-aquatic species. Among our current studies are effects of invasive species, disease, and land use change on the dynamics of amphibian communities to inform conservation and management decision making. - Data
If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.
Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) telemetry and habitat use at Crane Prairie Reservoir in Oregon, USA
We used radio-telemetry to study late-season movement and habitat use by Oregon spotted frogs (Rana pretiosa) at Crane Prairie Reservoir in Oregon. This dataset includes individual frog location data and habitat use during each tracking event that occurred roughly weekly between September and late November of 2018.Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) observations in Oregon (ver. 5.0, January 2023)
This dataset contains information from surveys conducted 2016-2022 by USGS as part of an ongoing Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) monitoring effort in Oregon. USGS research activities 2016-2022 were divided into seven study design categories: breeding (egg mass counts), mid-level (visual encounter surveys for occupancy monitoring), apex (mark-recapture), telemetry, trapping, water quality (skinCapture-mark-recapture data for Oregon spotted frogs (Rana pretiosa) along the Deschutes River, Oregon, 2016-2019
This dataset contains information from capture-mark-recapture sampling of Oregon spotted frogs (Rana pretiosa) conducted 2016-2019 by USGS as part of a study relating R. pretiosa survival and abundance to wetland inundation in the upper Deschutes River. Data consist of site, survey, habitat, and species detection covariates, as well as 10 years of hydrological and drought metrics used to establishOregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) monitoring data for metademographic analysis 2010-2018, Oregon
This dataset contains information from surveys conducted 2010-2018 by USGS as part of a long-term Oregon spotted frog monitoring effort in the central Oregon range. Data consist of site, survey, habitat, and species detection covariates, as well as inter-site distance measurements.Oregon Spotted Frog (Rana pretiosa) Monitoring at Jack Creek 2015-2018 (final)
This dataset contains information from mark-recapture and egg mass surveys conducted 2015-2018 by USGS as part of an ongoing Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) monitoring effort at Jack Creek, Klamath County, Oregon. Data consist of spotted frog counts (handled by surveyors) aggregated by date, location, life stage, and sex, as well as data on environmental conditions at the time each survey. NotTelemetry and habitat data for Oregon spotted frogs (Rana pretiosa) in Oregon, USA
We used radio-telemetry to study late-season movement and habitat use by the Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) at 9 sites from 4 populations along the Cascade Mountains in Oregon. This dataset includes individual frog morphometrics, location data, and habitat use during each tracking event that occurred roughly weekly between September and January of 2011, 2012, and 2016. - Multimedia
- Publications
If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.
Filter Total Items: 18Late season movement and habitat use by Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) in a large reservoir in Oregon, USA
Dam-created reservoirs are common landscape features that can provide habitat for amphibians, but their water level fluctuations and nonnative predators can differ markedly from more natural habitats. We compared fall movement and habitat use by the Oregon Spotted Frog (Rana pretiosa) in the reservoir pool with nearby river and pond habitats at Crane Prairie Reservoir in central Oregon, USA. MovemAuthorsChristopher Pearl, Jennifer Rowe, Brome McCreary, Michael J. AdamsDemography of the Oregon spotted frog along a hydrologically modified river
Altered flow regimes can contribute to dissociation between life history strategies and environmental conditions, leading to reduced persistence reported for many wildlife populations inhabiting regulated rivers. The Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) is a threatened species occurring in floodplains, ponds, and wetlands in the Pacific Northwest with a core range in Oregon, USA. All life stages ofAuthorsJennifer Rowe, Adam Duarte, Christopher Pearl, Brome McCreary, Patricia Haggerty, John W. Jones, Michael J. AdamsEstimation of metademographic rates and landscape connectivity for a conservation-reliant anuran
ContextAmphibian conservation efforts commonly assume populations are tied to waterbodies that collectively function as a metapopulation. This assumption is rarely evaluated, and there is a need to understand the degree of connectivity among patches to appropriately define, manage, and conserve biological populations.ObjectivesOur objectives were to quantify local persistence, colonization, and reAuthorsAdam Duarte, James Peterson, Christopher Pearl, Jennifer Christine Rowe, Brome McCreary, Stephanie Galvan, Michael J. AdamsEffect of amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) on apparent survival of frogs and toads in the western USA
Despite increasing interest in determining the population-level effects of emerging infectious diseases on wildlife, estimating effects of disease on survival rates remains difficult. Even for a well-studied disease such as amphibian chytridiomycosis (caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis [Bd]), there are few estimates of how survival of wild hosts is affected. We applied hierarchicaAuthorsRobin E. Russell, Brian J. Halstead, Brittany Mosher, Erin L. Muths, Michael J. Adams, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Robert N. Fisher, Patrick M. Kleeman, Adam R. Backlin, Christopher Pearl, R. Ken Honeycutt, Blake R. HossackLate-season movement and habitat use by Oregon spotted frogs (Rana pretiosa) in Oregon, USA
Many amphibians use multiple habitats across seasons. Information on seasonal habitat use, movement between seasonal habitat types, and habitats that may be particularly valuable is important to conservation and management. We used radio-telemetry to study late-season movement and habitat use by Oregon Spotted Frog (Rana pretiosa) at nine sites from four populations along the Cascade Mountains inAuthorsChristopher Pearl, Brome McCreary, Jennifer Rowe, M. J. AdamsRegional variation in drivers of connectivity for two frog species (Rana pretiosa and R. luteiventris) from the U.S. Pacific Northwest
Comparative landscape genetics has uncovered high levels of variability in which landscape factors affect connectivity among species and regions. However, the relative importance of species traits versus environmental variation for predicting landscape patterns of connectivity is unresolved. We provide evidence from a landscape genetics study of two sister taxa of frogs, the Oregon spotted frog (RAuthorsJeanne M. Robertson, Melanie A. Murphy, Christopher Pearl, M. J. Adams, Monica I. Paez-Vacas, Susan M. Haig, David S. Pilliod, Andrew Storfer, W. Chris FunkFitting N-mixture models to count data with unmodeled heterogeneity: Bias, diagnostics, and alternative approaches
Monitoring animal populations is central to wildlife and fisheries management, and the use of N-mixture models toward these efforts has markedly increased in recent years. Nevertheless, relatively little work has evaluated estimator performance when basic assumptions are violated. Moreover, diagnostics to identify when bias in parameter estimates from N-mixture models is likely is largely unexplorAuthorsAdam Duarte, M. J. Adams, James PetersonA new parameterization for integrated population models to document amphibian reintroductions
Managers are increasingly implementing reintroduction programs as part of a global effort to alleviate amphibian declines. Given uncertainty in factors affecting populations and a need to make recurring decisions to achieve objectives, adaptive management is a useful component of these efforts. A major impediment to the estimation of demographic rates often used to parameterize and refine decisionAuthorsAdam Duarte, Christopher Pearl, M. J. Adams, James PetersonShort-term occupancy and abundance dynamics of the Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) across its core range
The Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) occupies only a fraction of its original range and is listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. We surveyed 93 sites in a rotating frame design (2010–13) in the Klamath and Deschutes Basins, Oregon, which encompass most of the species’ core extant range. Oregon spotted frogs are declining in abundance and probability of site occupancy. We did noAuthorsM. J. Adams, Christopher A. Pearl, Brome McCreary, Stephanie GalvanTrends in amphibian occupancy in the United States
Though a third of amphibian species worldwide are thought to be imperiled, existing assessments simply categorize extinction risk, providing little information on the rate of population losses. We conducted the first analysis of the rate of change in the probability that amphibians occupy ponds and other comparable habitat features across the United States. We found that overall occupancy by amphiAuthorsM. J. Adams, David A.W. Miller, Erin Muths, Paul Stephen Corn, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Larissa L. Bailey, Gary M. Fellers, Robert N. Fisher, Walter J. Sadinski, Hardin Waddle, Susan C. WallsSurveys for presence of Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa): background information and field methods
The Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) is the most aquatic of the native frogs in the Pacific Northwest. The common name derives from the pattern of black, ragged-edged spots set against a brown or red ground color on the dorsum of adult frogs. Oregon spotted frogs are generally associated with wetland complexes that have several aquatic habitat types and sizeable coverage of emergent vegetation.AuthorsChristopher A. Pearl, David Clayton, Lauri TurnerWidespread occurrence of the chytrid fungus batrachochytrium dendrobatidis on oregon spotted frogs (rana pretiosa)
The pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been associated with amphibian declines in multiple continents, including western North America. We investigated Bd prevalence in Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa), a species that has declined across its range in the Pacific Northwest. Polymerase chain reaction analysis of skin swabs indicated that Bd was prevalent within populations (420 of 6AuthorsC.A. Pearl, J. Bowerman, M.J. Adams, N.D. Chelgren