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Cover Story

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Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

Frog Frenzy!

--By Jeremy Caplan

Ribbit, ribbit. when that distinctive sound echoes across the pond behind Nate Egan's house in Oregon, Illinois, there's no doubt about what's making it. Frogs. A lot of them. But across the United States, the green jumpers are not as plentiful as they once were. Concerned scientists have observed the number of frogs declining since the late 1980s.

That's why Nate, 9, and more than 3,800 other kids and adults are volunteering for Frogwatch USA. They listen to frog calls during the spring and summer mating season. After each three-minute listening session, the volunteers log their observations online for scientists to study.

"Frogs are more threatened than ever," says Amy Goodstine, the coordinator of Frogwatch USA. Goodstine says that pollution, pesticides, global warming and the loss of habitats are among the factors threatening the frog population.

To better understand why frogs are growing scarcer and to raise awareness of the problem, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) started Frogwatch USA in 1999. In 2001, the USGS joined forces with the National Wildlife Federation.

There are more than 100 frog species in the United States. Each has a unique mating call. Because frogs can be hard to spot and to follow, volunteers learn to identify them by the sounds they make. Nate admits that identifying frogs can be tricky. "It's hard, because sometimes you can't tell exactly which frog you're hearing," he says.

Nate and other volunteers learn to distinguish among frog sounds online at Frogwatch.org. You can too. Hop right in and become a frogwatcher!

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