Frogs are used as biological indicators for the health of the
Hillsborough River Greenway system. Frogs and toads are very suitable biological
indicators because their life cycle takes them from wetland systems to upland systems as
they progress through their life cycle. Also, amphibians, such as frogs and toads, are
very susceptible to environmental change and act as a good ecological barometers of the
health of ecosystems; as their environment changes, frog populations may decrease in
either or both number and diversity.
By learning the calls of various frogs and toads in our area, and
by listening for those calls and recording what you hear on the data sheet, providing it
to the Hillsborough Greenways Task Force, you will be able to help in assessing the
environmental health of the Hillsborough River Watershed. In turn-this biological
indicator information will be able to assist us in determining where the environment is
healthy, not only for the frogs and toads, but for all the other animals that we value
including ourselves.
