The Northeastern Chorus Frog
Pseudacris triseriata


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Presentations:
at the Northeastern Chorus Frog meeting

This page gives titles, abstracts, or more-than-abstracts of the presentations at the meeting, as well as contributions from those who could not attend. Shorter abstracts follow the title while others are attached by links.
Getting Started: 1300h. Welcome to the EOBM, Aleta Karstad, introduction to the meeting, F.W. Schueler.

Early Saturday Afternoon, 1330-1530h. Going back again: Repeated surveys of calling chorus frogs.

Notes on historic occurence from field notes over five decades (1952-2000) in Ontario east of Lake Superior and in western Quebec. (1) Abundance comments from field notes on triseriata taken on the Bleakney surveys in the Ottawa Valley and western Quebec of triseriata in 1953-1957; (2) the calling surveys of Gary and Ann Hanes to map chorus frog distribuiton in the Ottawa area in the 1960s; (3) observations on the southern limit of maculata south of White River in 1965. Francis R. Cook & Gary R. Hanes

Survey Data 1992-1993-1999 and 2000, Statute report, protection, rehabilitation plan & team in Quebec for the Striped Chorus Frog. Daniel St-Hilaire

...a short presentation on the work I have conducted on the species, from revisiting the data of Sherman Bleakney of 1954-1955, gathering records of species occurence in Quebec, looking at factors of decline and looking at natural areas that support the species. I would conclude on the trends and needs for research on the zoogeography of the Wesern Chorus Frog. Joël Bonin


Pseudacris triseriata (Western Chorus Frog) in Vermont Jim Andrews and Mark Ferguson

Dr. Stephen Eaton and others worked on mapping the range of Pseudacris triseriata in Western New York in the early 60's, using call surveys. Evidence of their presence was recorded as far south as Akeley, Pennsylvania. Dr. Richard Bothner also of St. Bonaventure University also noted their presence in the Olean area. Work conducted during the New York State Herp Atlas did not produce records in these areas. Recent confirmed occurrence of this species is limited to Northern Erie and Niagara Counties. This may indicate a reduction of range of over 100 km. Remaining populations in these counties, now face impacts resulting from the threat of West Nile Virus. Municipalities and county health departments are employing various mosquito control techniques to P. triseriata habitats, including the use of Methoprene briquets and swale drainage. Kenneth Roblee

1530-1545: break

Later Saturday Afternoon, 1545-1800h. The hinges of Spring no longer creak: loss of Chorus Frogs from particular sites.

Notes on historic occurence from field notes over five decades: (4) fluctuation in calling dates and occurrence of triseriata at "Maplestone Farm" area (2.5 km W of Bishops Mills) 1970-2000 and initial success of an introduction to an artificial pond there. Francis R. Cook

Pseudacris triseriata in the Kemptville Creek Drainage Basin (eastern Ontario): auditory Monitoring, 1992-2000. F.W. Schueler

Notes on 10 Sites of Pseudacris triseriata in a ten kilometer square (18VE57) in Leeds and Grenville County, Ontario, 1995-2000.
During 1995-2000 Pseudacris triseriata was recorded at ten locations in the NTS square 18VE57 of Grenville County. In one site the frogs have been extirpated because of a truck parked in the pond. A second site is a backyard frog monitoring site and had a few chorus frogs in 1995, fewer in following years, and none in 2000. Two other sites had calling in 1995-1997, and six sites had some calling in more recent years; calling was heard in four of these sites in 2000. These last eight sites were only recorded from casual observations. All ten locations would warrent monitoring to determine changes in calling and possible reasons for decline or increase.

It is suggested that chorus frogs might be heard by those monitoring birds for the Ontario Bird Breeding Atlas 2001-2006 during their spring searches for owls and other early nesting birds. We may be able to request that atlassers learn to recognize chorus frog calls and contribute records to the Ontario Herpetofaunal Summary project. Laurie Consaul

The Western Chorus Frog (Pseudacris triseriata) in the Mont Saint-Hilaire Biosphere Reserve area: Current status and some philosophical considerations. Martin Ouellet and Bruce D. Pauli

Pseudacris triseriata on the Five-Mile Block (Tobermory, Bruce County, Ontario): 1984-1999. Despite a scattering of older records, and George Toner's 1963 assertion that P. triseriata was the most abundant frog on the Bruce Peninsula, in the 1980's and 1990's this species was apparently confined to a small area SE of Tobermory, the 'Five-Mile Block', the only area on the outer peninsula where the concession road system is completed as a continuous block of roads. My surveys in 1984, 1990, and 1992 found the species throughout the block, but in 1997 I heard only 3 choruses, and in 1999 a detailed survey by John Francis resulted in the audition of only a single doubtful call. Whatever is happening to Chorus Frogs certainly seems to have happened here, and I plan a detailed survey for 2000 to look at the habitat and see if Wood Frogs (Rana sylvatica) have become quantifiablely more frequent since this decline. F.W. Schueler


After-supper address: "Before distribution maps and after: The development of Canadian knowledge of false cricket frogs of the Pseudacris nigrita complex since Sir James Richardson." Francis Cook.

Sunday Morning, 0900-1100h. Synthesis and summary

A century of Chorus Frogs: changes in the distribution in Ontario, 1900-2000 (extract from early draft: "...Data were then examined by UTM grid square (10 x 10 km). Chorus Frogs have been reported from 780 squares. The average number of records per square was 7.6 (range: 1-126), but 29% of squares have only one or two records. The first report of Chorus Frogs from a grid square varied from 1858 to 2000 (Fig 2). The average first year of observation was 1981.4 ±16.6. Almost half of the squares (41%) have their first record during the period 1985-1990. The distribution of last records per square is similar to first records, varying from 1925-2000 (Fig 3). The average last year of observation was 1991.4 ± 7.7. Once again, the period 1985-1990 is the modal period with 36% of the last records. The fact that the modal time period for both first and last records was 1985-1990 is not an accident as this period corresponds to the peak in activity of the Ontario Herpetofaunal Summary." David & Carolyn Seburn

Year-round Characterization of the habitats used by the Chorus Frog (Pseudacris triseriata triseriata) (2001-2003) and competition among Chorus Frog tadpoles and sympatric Anurans (2002-2003). Preparation of a recovery plan for this 'vulnerable' species in Quebec revealed a profound lack of knowledge: herpetologists have heard its distinctive calls in the spring, without knowing much about larval life, or anything about the non-breeding life of adults or juveniles. The goals of the recovery plan are to protect sites inhabited by Chorus Frog, improve their quality, and create new viable populations in Montérégie. The present project will aid the recovery effort by standardizing mark/recapture methods, compiling a life history for Quebec populations, studying home range and movements, characterizing the habitats used in each season, and investigating competiton between Chorus Frog tadpoles and larvae of other species. Jean-Francois Desroches

Circumstances of trilling in Pseudacris crucifer: a confounding factor in establishing the absence of P. triseriata . "Trilled calls of Pseudacris crucifer have the potential to confuse assements of regional extirpations of P. triseriata, but if there are circumstances when Peepers are more likely to trill, anomalous calling records of Chorus Frogs can be evaluated. I noted trilling in 27 of 1978 personal records of calling by P. crucifer in the years 1992-2000, from Ontario (68% from Leeds- Grenville), and adjacent Quebec and New York, from both exploratory surveys (49%) and transect (37%) & backyard (14%) auditory monitoring. Auditions where trilling was a substantial part of the calling made up 1.6% of the total records, and occurred mostly (92.5%) early in the season (before 6 May) and early in the day (before 21:30 hr; those before 6 May 67% of the total). Within this early/early subset of the records, neither temperature, windiness, cloudiness, rain, geographic location, nor Wisconsin-index size of the chorus was different for the trilling records. Residuals of temperature from a regression on time (and its square), longitude, and date (R2=36%), found that the residual temperature for trilling was 0.6 C cooler than for peeping, which is marginally significantly different (t=1.73, 321 d.f.). In this dataset trilling certainly occurs before 6 May, and before 21:30 hr, and within these limits at marginally cooler temperatures. The two most strikingly periferal northern records of P. triseriata in the OHS database are both of 1-2 individuals calling during daylight early in the season. F.W. Schueler

"...share our experiences here in Rochester... also, I'll describe the Frog Call Recording Project being initiated this spring..." Sara Rubin

"Statistical issues in monitoring amphibian populations." James P. Gibbs

Sunday Noon 1100-1300h. Concluding discussion


"I've got the impression that Boreal Chorus Frogs may not be as prominent in the Thunder Bay/Nipigon area as they were in the early 1990's when I first started coming up here on business. Steve Hecnar may have some information, although he's only had 2 field seasons here. Part of the problem is that Boreal Chorus Frogs like semi-permanent wetlands and ditches, and habitat modification along roadside occurs all over with road ditch upgrading. Many areas where I've been years ago I do not here them now. Haven't done any detailed review of my OHS records to see if I've been back to areas at different times which would account for apparent absences. There maybe something going on in NW Ontario with chorus Frogs! Mention this at your meeting if you think it's relevant." Wayne Weller
"I'll talk to Bob Johnson and together we should be able to put together a report re: status of Chorus Frogs in Toronto. GTA studies may be more sketchy, but we can investigate." Natalie Helferty



last updated : 17 April 2001, F. W. Schueler.

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