Gopher frogs

Figured it's time to post again even though absolutely NOTHING is happening at the drift fences.  Still dry and cold.  We did get some snow on Sunday which is really unusual for here, but it didn't amount to much.  Certainly not enough to affect water levels!  Took these photos of a couple gopher frogs, Rana capito, we have in captivity for the winter.  They were born last spring at Craig's Pond--one of the largest bays on site.  They will be released back there this spring, but most likely with some radio transmitters on their backs so Kurt Buhlmann can look at their movements and use of the uplands away from the pond.  Gopher frogs are quite rare and there is a lot of interest in learning more about their habitat requirements and general ecology. Their name comes from their association with Gopher tortoises--they use their burrows!  They are considered endangered, threatened, or at risk in every state in which they occur.  The closely related Mississippi (or dusky) gopher frog, Rana sevosa, used to occur along the gulf coast states but is now federally endangered and restricted to only a few remaining populations.   Hopefully Rana capito won't suffer the same fate, but in SC there are only two main places where these gorgeous frogs can even be found: the Savannah River Site and Francis Marion National Forest.  We only have a few known ponds with gopher frogs on the SRS but we are actively trying to get some tissue samples for DNA so we can get a feel for the genetic health of the remaining populations and compare the populations here and at Francis Marion.  Fellow blogger, David Scott and I are doing the genetic work along with Stephen Richter at Eastern Kentucky University.  Stephen has a lot of experience with the Mississippi gopher frogs and hopefully together we can all learn more about these awesome frogs.