Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Late-season movement and habitat use by Oregon spotted frogs (Rana pretiosa) in Oregon, USA

September 28, 2018

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 in Oregon. Movement rates declined with date and were the lowest at the end of tracking in December and January. Frogs across our sites used vegetated shallows in late summer and early fall. In fall, frogs used a range of habitat types, and at several sites moved to distinctive habitats such as springs, interstices in lava rock, and semi-terrestrial beaver channels. Distance between first and last tracking location was <250 m for 84.5% (49/58) of frogs, ranged up to 1145 m, and was greater for frogs in ditch habitats than those not in ditches. Distinctive features like springs or semi-terrestrial retreats can host multiple frogs and may represent particularly valuable wintering habitat for R. pretiosa in some sites in their Oregon range.

Publication Year 2018
Title Late-season movement and habitat use by Oregon spotted frogs (Rana pretiosa) in Oregon, USA
DOI 10.1643/CH-18-031
Authors Christopher Pearl, Brome McCreary, Jennifer Rowe, M. J. Adams
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Copeia
Index ID 70199792
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center