Most of us know Frogs and Toads are Amphibians who begin life in water, hatch into a larval stage (which we call tadpoles) undergo metamorphosis and evolve legs and lungs that are able to breathe above the water. True frogs and toads are closely related. They belong to the same order called Anura (or tail less). Under this order, there are families. The family of true toads for example is Bufonidae, while the true frogs are called Ranidae. These huge families may have hundreds of individual species.
Hearing different frog and toad sounds can be one way to help identify and to select the species. Some of their sounds may mean different things than "I'm ready for love" although the loudest sounds we hear may be just that. The spring peeper, a frog that can climb trees but prefers debris on the forest floor, can sometimes be heard more often than seen right in our back yards in eastern North America. Sounds that frogs and toads make under water can often be recorded using underwater microphones, although in my explorations around the internet I heard mostly frog sounds underwater . The center for global environmental education (hamline.edu) suggest the the average lifespan is somewhere between 4- 15 years, some species have longer lifespans others shorter than this average.
Frogs and toads are commonly found near wetlands which include marshes, ponds, lakes in the shallower parts, streams,edges of slower flowing rivers, creeks and vernal pools (those pools of water that are seasonal). Even seasonal drainage ditches, and depressions in the earth that collect water can be favored by frogs and toads. Frogs seem to prefer staying more near a water source, and I have seen them more frequently in areas with water. Toads are adapted to more terrestrial living and can often be found more often farther afield on dryer ground. Because toads return to the water to mate and to lay their eggs, they can be found in or near near water also. The ribbon like strands of eggs one sees in the water are probably toad eggs, the clusters are probably the frog's eggs. Toads may hide under leaves, burrow in soft ground or hide or between rocks during the day to help keep their skin moist when they are not near a water source. Rainy days or just after a rain can be good days to look for frogs and toads.
Telling frogs and toads apart can sometimes be hard. If you see one in the water it is pretty safe to say that if it has long powerful hind legs with webbing between the rear feet or"toes" and bulging eyes it is probably a frog. Some frogs however only have partial webbing. Toads do hop when alarmed, they just can not jump as far as away in one bound as a frog. Toads usually have drier looking and feeling skin and a bumpier appearance. Individual species vary. A toad may sometimes have eyes that appear to bulge and rear foot webs can be hard to see. A toad's skin can sometimes look smoother, very much like a frog. Both family groups hibernate. Some adaptations occur that allows some species to semi-hibernate (estivation) ) during seasonal dry periods.
Gardeners like frogs and toads because they eat a lot of insects. An individual may eat up to 10,000 insects in one summer. The toads and frogs especially toads because they may come more frequently to human gardens, have sometimes been called the "gardener's friend."
Eat and be eaten.
Sometimes a toad captures a meal so fast that one needs a slow motion camera to capture the event. While toads depend entirely on the lightening like strike of their tongues, Frogs while still using tongues, have a small set of teeth they use in the upper jaw and roof of mouth to use after capturing their prey to help hold it, until they swallow. Frogs and Toads both need large amounts of live food to exist. In North America, the toad is the one who is more poisonous. If a toad becomes frightened, paratoid glands in the skin near the eyes or on side of their neck may ooze a poison that deters many animals. Toad tadpole stages also have poison which helps them possibly from being eaten here in this country by many species of native fish.
The egg and tadpole stage is probably the most vulnerable stage of the life cycle but both adult frogs and toads are eaten by a variety of natural predators. Not all animals are immune to a toads poison, both frogs and toads as adults are eaten and have naturally evolved to be somewhat on the mid range in the food chain for their wildlife habitats. They eat and in turn are eaten. Many natural predators include lizards in our dryer areas. There are also snakes, turtles, and some birds eat that eat and depend on them. Some common mammals like skunks and raccoons and others seek out amphibians as a valuable food source.
The aquatic life cycle, and their permeable skin makes frogs, toads and other amphibians very susceptible to both air and water pollution. Handling frogs and toads can dry out their skin and can lead to a greater susceptibility of diseases. I have read that taking pictures, just enjoying the moment, or drawing what we saw is a safer way to remember our experiences finding frogs and toads.
Creating frog and toad habitats in your yard.Leaving some loose piles of rocks, or making Toad houses out of overturned pots that have openings large enough for Toads to get through is one way to help to encourage Toads in the garden. A very cultivated yard or back ground area nearby with no leaf litter, rocks, downed wood, or animal burrows can discourage amphibians from living there. It is just too dry and barren, there is no place to hide or to find shelter on hot days. An area that is left "wilder"encourages them to come closer to where you live. A small home pond that one makes can help attract native frogs, toads and possibly salamanders to the home areas during the spring and summer seasons could still have some vegetative cover nearby.
Some sites I found in my internet travels besides those mentioned above include: Huston Zoo, Frog. Us, California Herps.com, Library Think Quest.org, BBC production "Crisis for the world's Amphibians", The Cofrin Center for Biodiversity- wwgbd.ed, and an international amphibian group trying to address international conservation called amphibianark.org. All of these places seem to have interesting and factual info, if one wants to explore further.
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