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Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Amphibia

Order:  Anura

Scientific Name: Rana Muscosa

Common Name: Mountain Yellow Legged Frog

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Rana muscosa (Mountain Yellow-legged Frog, Southern Mountain Yellow-legged Frog)

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The habitat includes sunny riverbanks, meadow streams, isolated pools, and lake borders in the Sierra Nevada, rocky stream courses in southern California. The species seems to prefer sloping banks with rocks or vegetation to the water's edge (Stebbins 1985).

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Ways We Can Help to Save Mountain Yellow Legged Frogs 

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Ways We Can Help to Save Mountain Yellow Legged Frogs 

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Making sure they are not overcrowded with non-native species like trout

Make sure fungi and diseases are not spread into the water

They were hit with the amphibian chytrid fungus

Simply making sure the environment they are living in is healthy and simply protected

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Scientists are struggling to understand why frogs are dying all over the world. And not just frogs - but also other amphibians, like toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians. Herpetologists are scientists who study amphibians and reptiles. The better they understand what's going on, the more likely they'll be able to suggest how to help the frogs.

But everyone can be a part of the solution. Here are some ways you can help:

Educate Yourself

Learn more about frogs at your local aquarium or zoo. Natural history museums are also a good place to explore. In New York City, for example, the American Museum of Natural History has an upcoming exhibit (opening May 2009) all about frogs.

The internet makes it easy to find frog news, ranging from action-oriented to more technical. Many people have started their own frog-related websites. Some scientists have frog blogs, like this one by Dr. Roland Knapp, a research biologist at the University of California's Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory.

Knapp studies the mountain yellow-legged frog. When scientists showed that trout introduced into Sierra Nevada mountain lakes decimated the native frogs, the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the California Department of Fish and Game joined together to remove non-native trout.

Just as the frog was recovering from trout overstocking, it was hit with the amphibian chytrid fungus. The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned to add the yellow-legged frog to the endangered species list to protect them by law, but it remains only a candidate for now.

Keep informed about legislation that affects your local frog populations. You can help frogs face threats like habitat destruction, global climate change and disease.

Protect the Environment

One of the most important ways to help frogs also helps humans -- taking care of the environment.

Frogs are particularly susceptible to changes in the environment. Their usually moist skin helps their weak lungs by exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide with their environment - both in water and out of it. In fact, last year scientists found a frog without lungs -- it breathes only through its skin.

Over 6,300 different species of amphibians are known - and new species are still being found. Nearly half of the species are in decline, mostly from threats to their habitat. Frogs lose their homes to development, but they are also harmed by garbage, non-native plants and animals, and discarded chemicals.

Watch what you throw away -and where you throw it away-to keep frog habitats trash-free. The water that ends up in storm drains, for example, often travels through forests and grasslands and dumps into wetlands - all prime frog habitat.

On the other hand, shorelines should stay naturally cluttered with the leaf litter, rocks and logs that frogs use for cover. Frogs evolved over millions of years to fit into specific ecological niches defined by factors like temperature and water levels. They need clean water to survive, but they also eat-and feed-other species.

Don't introduce non-native plants and animals. The tadpoles that hatch from frog eggs depend on finding their favorite plants to eat and hide under. As with the stocked trout and the mountain yellow-legged frog, sometimes even one out-of-place species can disrupt an entire habitat.

The invasive species can sometimes be another frog - like African clawed frogs and American bullfrogs that were moved outside their original habitats. The worldwide export of some frogs may even have contributed to spreading the amphibian chytrid fungus around the world. African clawed frogs were once exported for medical uses and are now popular as pets. Bullfrog legs are exported all over the world as food, especially from Indonesia.

If you'd like to keep a frog as a pet, look for a pet dealer who propagates his or her own animals and don't release the frog into the wild without consulting an expert to see if it will be an invasive species.

Reduce chemical use. The water table on which we depend collects a lot of the chemicals we flush down our drains or add to our lawns (PDF), despite our best efforts to treat the water.

Chemical pesticides used in industrial agriculture harm frogs. But declines in frog populations also show us that something is wrong with the water we drink.

Dr. Tyrone Hayes is a developmental endocrinologist at the University of California, Berkeley. He studies how pesticides both affect amphibian development and also promote reproductive cancer in humans.

The pesticide atrazine, which is found in almost every American's drinking water, causes hormone disruptions in both frogs and humans.

"[It] doesn't matter if you're a frog, a dog, a cat, a hog, or a farmer," says Hayes. "The hormones that are disrupted-testosterone, estrogen, thyroid hormones-those are all the same hormones."

Hayes' laboratory plays host to several egg-producing male frogs - frogs that were exposed to doses of atrazine a third of what's allowed in drinking water. Hayes says the same dosage promotes human cancers.

Don't flush medicines down the toilet. Pesticides degrade water quality, but so do drugs flushed into our environment (PDF). The treatment plants that process our wastewater don't always remove pharmaceutical chemicals. Most medicines should be thrown in the trash - sometimes mixed with kitty litter or gravel.

Conserve water. The less water you use, the less has to be treated. And the more water stays with frogs in natural environments.

Support Conservation

Give the frogs some time. If you want to be hands-on, find a local habitat preservation or citizen science monitoring program. Or you can take part in a 24-hour BioBlitz near you.

Put your money where it counts. Many environmental organizations (such as Amphibian Ark and Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation), zoos and aquariums, scientific consortiums, and countless community groups are already tackling the global frog crisis. But there's still a lot to do. Donate or raise money for your favorite.

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Frogs: The Thin Green Line | What You Can Do to Help the Frogs | Nature | PBS

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Scientists are struggling to understand why frogs are dying all over the world. And not just frogs - but also other amphibians, like toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians. Herpetologists are scientists who study amphibians and reptiles. The better they understand what's going on, the more likely they'll be able to suggest how to help the frogs.

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Efforts to Save Mountain Yellow Legged Frogs 

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Efforts to Save Mountain Yellow Legged Frogs 

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They are protected under the Endangered Species Act

But the Service has yet to develop a recovery plan to guide their management

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Mountain and Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs

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The mountain yellow-legged frog has two different populations that have been declared separate subspecies: a northern and central Sierra Nevada population and a southern Sierra Nevada and Southern California population. Both populations are adapted to high-elevation habitats without aquatic predators.

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Cold-blooded

Moist, scaleless skin that absorbs water and oxygen

Found near ponds, marshlands, swamps, and other areas where freshwater is available

Has thin skin and have poisonous glands to protect them from their predators

Some have camouflage to blend into their surroundings to protect themselves

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Amphibians - body, used, water, process, Earth, life, characteristics, form, animals

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The life cycle of most amphibians begins in water when the female lays eggs that are fertilized outside of her body. The eggs then hatch into larvae, or tadpoles, that breathe through external gills. The larvae grow flat tails and feed on vegetation.

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Mountain Yellow Legged Frog: Endangered or Threatened? 

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Mountain Yellow Legged Frog: Endangered or Threatened? 

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The frog is currently on the endangered species list

It was petitioned to be on the California Endangered Species List in 2010

Then put on federal Endangered Species List in 2012

The status is getting worse as the years go on, more are dying leaving the species in decreasing numbers

States that 95% of the historical population is not extinct

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mountain yellow-legged frog threats and status

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Mountain Yellow-legged Frog Threats and Status

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Mountain Yellow-legged Frog Threats and Status

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Terrestrial insects

Adult stages of aquatic insects

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Description

The mountain yellow-legged frog is a moderate-sized (approximately 40 to 80 millimeters (mm) [1.5 to 3.25 inches] snout-vent length) ranid frog. As is common with ranid frogs, females average slightly larger than males, and males have a swollen, darkened thumb base. Adult coloration is highly variable, with a dorsal pattern ranging from discrete dark spots that can be few and large, to smaller and more numerous spots with a mixture of sizes and shapes. Irregular lichen-like patches, or a poorly defined reticulum, may also be present. The dorsal coloration is usually a mix of brown and yellow, but often with gray, red, or green-brown; some individuals may be a dark brown with little pattern. Dorsolateral folds are present, but not usually prominent. The venter and undersurfaces of the hind limbs are yellow, with ranges in hue from pale lemon yellow to an intense sun yellow. The throat is white or yellow, sometimes with a mottling of dark pigment. This frog lacks vocal sacs, and the tympanum is smoother and the toe tips darker than those of the foothill-yellow legged frog ( Rana boylii), with which it may be confused. The mountain yellow-legged frog produces an odiferous secretion when disturbed.

The larvae (tadpoles) of this species are generally mottled brown in dorsal coloration with a golden tint and a faintly-yellow venter. They range to 72 mm (2.8 inches) in total length. There are a maximum of 7 labial tooth rows (2-3 upper and 4 lower). Larvae often take 2 to 4 years or more to reach metamorphosis.

Taxonomy

Distribution

The mountain yellow-legged frog (MYLF), a member of the true frog family Ranidae, consists of two species. The southern mountain yellow-legged frog ( Rana muscosa) is endemic to the southern Sierra Nevada and the Transverse Ranges, while the Sierra Nevada mountain yellow-legged frog ( R. sierrae) is native to the northern and central Sierra Nevada. MYLF distribution (PDF) is generally restricted to mid- to high-elevation aquatic habitat, with most extant populations occurring on national park and national forest lands.

The mountain yellow-legged frog was once extremely abundant in aquatic ecosystems of the Sierra Nevada (Grinnell and Storer 1924, Storer 1925, Zweifel 1955). It was distributed nearly continuously in high elevation water bodies in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California and Nevada, from southern Plumas County to southern Tulare County (Jennings and Hayes 1994), at elevations mostly above 1,820 meters (6,000 feet). The historic range of the Sierra Nevada mountain yellow-legged frog encompasses 10 National Forests (Lassen, Plumas, Tahoe, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Eldorado, Stanislaus, Toiyabe, Inyo, Sierra and Sequoia) and 3 National Parks (Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon). Since about 1970, mountain yellow-legged frog numbers and populations have undergone a precipitous decline throughout the Sierra Nevada (Sherman and Morton 1993, Jennings and Hayes 1994, Bradford et al. 1994a, Jennings 1996, Drost and Fellers 1996, Matthews and Knapp 1999, Knapp and Matthews 2000). Further declines continue to be documented. Mountain yellow-legged frogs have disappeared from between 70 and 90 percent of their historic localities (Center for Biological Diversity and Pacific Rivers Council 2000). Remaining populations are widely scattered and consist of few breeding adults (Center for Biological Diversity and Pacific Rivers Council 2000). Numerous factors, separately and in combination, have contributed to the species' decline. Introduction of non-native fishes, pesticides, ultraviolet radiation, pathogens, acidification from atmospheric deposition, nitrate deposition, livestock grazing, recreational activities, and drought have all been identified as potential factors impacting this species and its habitat.

Habitat and Life History

Mountain yellow-legged frogs in the Sierra Nevada live in high mountain lakes, ponds, tarns, and streams--largely in areas that were glaciated as recently as 10,000 years ago. Alpine lakes used by mountain yellow-legged frogs usually have open shorelines, margins that are grassy or muddy and have a depth greater than 2.5 meters (greater than 8.2 feet). Adults are typically found sitting on rocks along the shoreline, usually where there is little or no vegetation. Larvae are often distributed in the warm water shallow areas along the shoreline during the daytime. Mountain yellow-legged frogs also use stream habitats, especially in the northern part of their range. Breeding habitat consists of ponds, lakes and streams that do not dry out in summer, are deep enough to prevent freezing to the bottom in winter, and do not contain fish. MYLF tadpoles take two to four years to metamorphose into juvenile frogs, depending on water temperature. In the Sierra Nevada, adult frogs apparently hibernate during the coldest winter months. Larvae and adults generally overwinter under ice and have been found to overwinter up to 9 months in the bottoms of lakes. Mountain yellow-legged frogs emerge from overwintering sites immediately following snowmelt. Adults sometimes travel over snow to reach preferred breeding sites early in the season. Breeding activity begins early in the spring and can range from April at lower elevations to June and July in higher elevations. Oviposition typically occurs in the shallow water of ponds or fast flowing inlet streams. The egg masses are normally attached to rocks, gravel, under banks, or to vegetation. Clutch size varies from 15 to 350 eggs per egg mass and egg hatching times range from 18 to 21 days. The time required to develop from fertilization to metamorphosis is believed to vary between 1 and 3.5 years. The time required to reach reproductive maturity is believed to vary between 3 and 4 years after metamorphosis. Adults tend to move between selected breeding, feeding, and overwintering habitats during the course of the year. Adult mountain yellow-legged frogs are thought to feed preferentially upon terrestrial insects and adult stages of aquatic insects while on the shore and in shallow water. Larvae graze on algae and diatoms along rocky bottoms in streams, lakes, and ponds.

Conservation efforts: High Mountain Lakes Project

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The mountain yellow-legged frog is a moderate-sized (approximately 40 to 80 millimeters (mm) [1.5 to 3.25 inches] snout-vent length) ranid frog. As is common with ranid frogs, females average slightly larger than males, and males have a swollen, darkened thumb base.

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Their position on the food web is unique

Instead of occupying a single level of the food web, it occupies markedly different levels throughout its life.

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These pages describe the taxonomy, distribution, life cycle, and ecosystem role of the mountain yellow-legged frog (Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog [Rana sierrae], southern mountain yellow-legged frog [Rana muscosa]).

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Characteristics of Mountan Yellow Legged Frog

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Characteristics of Mountan Yellow Legged Frog

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Female are larger than males

Males often have a swollen, darkened thumb base

Dorsal coloration: mix of brown and yellow, often gray, red or green-brown

Hind limbs are yellow

Throat is white or yellow

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Description

The mountain yellow-legged frog is a moderate-sized (approximately 40 to 80 millimeters (mm) [1.5 to 3.25 inches] snout-vent length) ranid frog. As is common with ranid frogs, females average slightly larger than males, and males have a swollen, darkened thumb base. Adult coloration is highly variable, with a dorsal pattern ranging from discrete dark spots that can be few and large, to smaller and more numerous spots with a mixture of sizes and shapes. Irregular lichen-like patches, or a poorly defined reticulum, may also be present. The dorsal coloration is usually a mix of brown and yellow, but often with gray, red, or green-brown; some individuals may be a dark brown with little pattern. Dorsolateral folds are present, but not usually prominent. The venter and undersurfaces of the hind limbs are yellow, with ranges in hue from pale lemon yellow to an intense sun yellow. The throat is white or yellow, sometimes with a mottling of dark pigment. This frog lacks vocal sacs, and the tympanum is smoother and the toe tips darker than those of the foothill-yellow legged frog ( Rana boylii), with which it may be confused. The mountain yellow-legged frog produces an odiferous secretion when disturbed.

The larvae (tadpoles) of this species are generally mottled brown in dorsal coloration with a golden tint and a faintly-yellow venter. They range to 72 mm (2.8 inches) in total length. There are a maximum of 7 labial tooth rows (2-3 upper and 4 lower). Larvae often take 2 to 4 years or more to reach metamorphosis.

Taxonomy

Distribution

The mountain yellow-legged frog (MYLF), a member of the true frog family Ranidae, consists of two species. The southern mountain yellow-legged frog ( Rana muscosa) is endemic to the southern Sierra Nevada and the Transverse Ranges, while the Sierra Nevada mountain yellow-legged frog ( R. sierrae) is native to the northern and central Sierra Nevada. MYLF distribution (PDF) is generally restricted to mid- to high-elevation aquatic habitat, with most extant populations occurring on national park and national forest lands.

The mountain yellow-legged frog was once extremely abundant in aquatic ecosystems of the Sierra Nevada (Grinnell and Storer 1924, Storer 1925, Zweifel 1955). It was distributed nearly continuously in high elevation water bodies in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California and Nevada, from southern Plumas County to southern Tulare County (Jennings and Hayes 1994), at elevations mostly above 1,820 meters (6,000 feet). The historic range of the Sierra Nevada mountain yellow-legged frog encompasses 10 National Forests (Lassen, Plumas, Tahoe, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Eldorado, Stanislaus, Toiyabe, Inyo, Sierra and Sequoia) and 3 National Parks (Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon). Since about 1970, mountain yellow-legged frog numbers and populations have undergone a precipitous decline throughout the Sierra Nevada (Sherman and Morton 1993, Jennings and Hayes 1994, Bradford et al. 1994a, Jennings 1996, Drost and Fellers 1996, Matthews and Knapp 1999, Knapp and Matthews 2000). Further declines continue to be documented. Mountain yellow-legged frogs have disappeared from between 70 and 90 percent of their historic localities (Center for Biological Diversity and Pacific Rivers Council 2000). Remaining populations are widely scattered and consist of few breeding adults (Center for Biological Diversity and Pacific Rivers Council 2000). Numerous factors, separately and in combination, have contributed to the species' decline. Introduction of non-native fishes, pesticides, ultraviolet radiation, pathogens, acidification from atmospheric deposition, nitrate deposition, livestock grazing, recreational activities, and drought have all been identified as potential factors impacting this species and its habitat.

Habitat and Life History

Mountain yellow-legged frogs in the Sierra Nevada live in high mountain lakes, ponds, tarns, and streams--largely in areas that were glaciated as recently as 10,000 years ago. Alpine lakes used by mountain yellow-legged frogs usually have open shorelines, margins that are grassy or muddy and have a depth greater than 2.5 meters (greater than 8.2 feet). Adults are typically found sitting on rocks along the shoreline, usually where there is little or no vegetation. Larvae are often distributed in the warm water shallow areas along the shoreline during the daytime. Mountain yellow-legged frogs also use stream habitats, especially in the northern part of their range. Breeding habitat consists of ponds, lakes and streams that do not dry out in summer, are deep enough to prevent freezing to the bottom in winter, and do not contain fish. MYLF tadpoles take two to four years to metamorphose into juvenile frogs, depending on water temperature. In the Sierra Nevada, adult frogs apparently hibernate during the coldest winter months. Larvae and adults generally overwinter under ice and have been found to overwinter up to 9 months in the bottoms of lakes. Mountain yellow-legged frogs emerge from overwintering sites immediately following snowmelt. Adults sometimes travel over snow to reach preferred breeding sites early in the season. Breeding activity begins early in the spring and can range from April at lower elevations to June and July in higher elevations. Oviposition typically occurs in the shallow water of ponds or fast flowing inlet streams. The egg masses are normally attached to rocks, gravel, under banks, or to vegetation. Clutch size varies from 15 to 350 eggs per egg mass and egg hatching times range from 18 to 21 days. The time required to develop from fertilization to metamorphosis is believed to vary between 1 and 3.5 years. The time required to reach reproductive maturity is believed to vary between 3 and 4 years after metamorphosis. Adults tend to move between selected breeding, feeding, and overwintering habitats during the course of the year. Adult mountain yellow-legged frogs are thought to feed preferentially upon terrestrial insects and adult stages of aquatic insects while on the shore and in shallow water. Larvae graze on algae and diatoms along rocky bottoms in streams, lakes, and ponds.

Conservation efforts: High Mountain Lakes Project

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The mountain yellow-legged frog is a moderate-sized (approximately 40 to 80 millimeters (mm) [1.5 to 3.25 inches] snout-vent length) ranid frog. As is common with ranid frogs, females average slightly larger than males, and males have a swollen, darkened thumb base.

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What are the causes of the Mountain Yellow Legged Frog declining? 

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What are the causes of the Mountain Yellow Legged Frog declining? 

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Non-native fish introductions

Contaminant introductions

Livestock grazing

Acidification from atmospheric deposition

Nitrate deposition

Ultraviolet radiation

Drought

Disease

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Rana muscosa (Mountain Yellow-legged Frog, Southern Mountain Yellow-legged Frog)

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The habitat includes sunny riverbanks, meadow streams, isolated pools, and lake borders in the Sierra Nevada, rocky stream courses in southern California. The species seems to prefer sloping banks with rocks or vegetation to the water's edge (Stebbins 1985).

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Decreases at a rate of 11.6% every year

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Freshman Year:

Didn’t understand how important homework really was

Disorganized with notes

Thought you had to have friends

Believed that I couldn’t do any better

Facial structures changed and became more fit

Sophomore Year:

Worked on working out more, watching what I eat

Realized friends are as important as the year before

Thought I could improve better with my grades

Volleyball was pushing me to be a better person overall

Junior Year:

Facial and body structure is no longer changing, more consistent

Volleyball is at the highest peak for me, getting better and training during the off season

Working out more

Have all A’s in my classes

Taking more organized notes

Realizes friends are there whenever you need them but do not depend on them

Family is more important than friends because family can be taken away from you in a blink of an eye

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Environment:

Sunny riverbanks

Meadow streams

Isolated pools

Lake borders in the Sierra Nevada

Location:

Southern Sierra Nevada of California

Mountains to the south in Southern California

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Rana muscosa (Mountain Yellow-legged Frog, Southern Mountain Yellow-legged Frog)

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The habitat includes sunny riverbanks, meadow streams, isolated pools, and lake borders in the Sierra Nevada, rocky stream courses in southern California. The species seems to prefer sloping banks with rocks or vegetation to the water's edge (Stebbins 1985).