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WILDLIFE SPOTLIGHT
Recovering the Florida Bog Frog By Nicole Barys, The Longleaf Alliance
Mechanical restoration activities in bog frog habitat facilitate reintroduction of prescribed fire and promote herbaceous species growth, which assist with regulating the seepage hydrology of bogs in the small floodplain of the seepage stream. Pictured to the right of Ed O’Daniels, The Longleaf Alliance, is a blooming white top pitcher plant (Sarracenia leucophylla). Photo by Nicole Barys.
Meet the frog
the back feet. By avoiding deeper water, the bog frog does not need the large webbing seen on other frogs of the same genus, such as bronze frogs or leopard frogs (Lithobates sphenocephalus). Hybrids of the Florida bog frog and bronze frog are known to occur; however, these hybrids are believed to be incapable of reproduction.
With its small size, secretive habitats, and limited distribution, the Florida bog frog (Lithobates okaloosae) may not be what most people think of when asked about amphibians associated with longleaf pine ecosystems. Adding to that, the species was first recognized and described in 1985. These frogs utilize a type of embedded wetland within the longleaf pine landscape, called seepage streams. In these streams, particularly in lowerorder streams, water flows laterally into the main channel, from the banks of the wetland. This shallow, slow seep creates an acidic bog, full of carnivorous plants, mosses, and herbaceous species. The Florida bog frog utilizes shallow pools found in these seeping bogs to lay their eggs away from the stream’s main channel. They breed during the warmer months of the year, with activity starting as early as late March and ending as late as the middle of October. This species appears visually similar to the bronze frog (Lithobates clamitans). The bog frog can be distinguished by highly reduced (almost absent) webbing on
Bog frog on the decline These small frogs are on the decline for a multitude of reasons, mostly associated with habitat loss or degradation. The total distribution of the Florida bog frog occurs between two rivers in the Florida Panhandle, spanning three counties: Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton. Fortunately, most of its current distribution is on protected land. However, habitat degradation through fire suppression has caused plants such as sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana), red titi (Cyrilla racemiflora), and black titi (Clyftonia monophyla) to grow unchecked, altering the soil hydrology of the seeping acidic bogs. Feral hogs (Sus scrofa) pose an additional threat to the bogs, by uprooting large
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