Amphibious Indicator Species

April is National Frog Month! Frogs love wet, damp places and are crucial to our environment! If you’ve never heard of an indicator species, now you have! They are an organism that reflects the condition of their environment and are able to warn us of changes and degradation. You might be thinking, frogs? What makes them an indicator species? Frogs live in both dry and wet areas, they breath through their skin, and their eggs are fairly fragile to environmental changes! If you’ve ever seen frog eggs, you’ll know that they don’t have hard shells like other animals eggs. They are soft and gel-like, so if there are algae blooms, toxins, or pollutants in the water or air, it will impact their populations first! It’s not just frogs that are amazing indicator species, toads and salamanders are too! During this month, if you see a frog, give them a smile and know that it’s a good sign!