Spring Peepers: Next Generation!

Some of the Spring Peeper Metamorphs at the Homer Lake Wetland, June 4, 2021

You may recall that the Spring Peepers were among the first frogs calling at the wetland as early as March 3rd or sooner (see the post on spring peepers if you missed it). It's not too surprising then that they are also among the first froglets (or "metamorphs") to emerge from the pond. Today the vegetation around the edges of the water was teeming with spring peeper metamorphs, approximately one centimeter or half an inch in length-- about a third of their full adult size. As can be seen in some of the photos above, some still have remnants of their tadpole tails yet to be absorbed into their bodies. Nevertheless they have graduated to living on land, breathing air and hopping away when I get too close.

The transformation from tadpole to frog, while something we may take for granted, is actually pretty amazing. It's not just physical changes that take place, as extensive as those are, but also a whole new way of living. Tadpoles graze on algae. Now these little guys hunt insects for food. Their fully aquatic life is behind them and, in the case of spring peepers, they'll make their way into the surrounding woods and won't be back to the pond until they're ready to breed -- after about three years according to Animal Diversity Web.

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