Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/118157
Yet their rate of loss is escalating. Some 80 per cent of the Fraser River Delta wetlands have already disappeared; in the South Okanagan, the figure is 85 per cent. All of which spells big trouble for wetland residents – frogs and toads in particular. Wind, unruly blonde hair stuffed under a toque, her florescent vest bulging with various tools, holds up what looks vaguely like a lobster trap. These collapsible, mesh funnel traps, she explains, are live traps used to capture a snapshot of amphibian life, and almost two-dozen of them are submerged throughout the pond like hidden Easter eggs. We scatter immediately, our competitive instincts tweaked. Minutes later, Samson and I triumphantly lift the first waterlogged trap to the surface, then hold it – dripping mightily – aloft. Peering inside, we find ourselves face to face with a frog, the underside of its hind red legs a brilliant red. Bingo! Cries of surprise echo ours as other groups gawk to find more red-legged frogs, along with northwestern salamanders, dragonfly larvae, water scorpions (ranatra fusca) and giant water bugs (lethocerus americana). I momentarily hold "our" frog in my hand, then ceremoniously place it in a deep bucket's 10 centimetres of pond water. I'm convinced I can feel its tiny heart beating in rhythm to the rain. Waiting for the others to lug more buckets ashore, Samson and I record each find from within our allocated study area: one red-legged frog, 12 egg masses, five water striders and one giant water bug. This is fun, I think. Suddenly I'm imagining leading my own Wetlandkeeper group late one future afternoon, revelling in a melody of frog calls. But the vision quickly evaporates with Wind's news that B.C. coastal frogs don't call. In fact, she says, the red-legged frog communicates underwater. "Sometimes we take groups out with the hydrophone, the same model used to listen to whales. If you put one in the water, you can hear them then," she says, laughing. "They make a funny quack sound." More mysteries of the amphibian world are revealed: Did you know male western toads don't have a mating ritual? The males simply grab anything resembling a female toad and if it squeaks they know they've grabbed a male and let go; if it doesn't squeak, they hang on. "When you're sitting there it sounds like a whole bunch of squeaky toys going off," notes Wind, "very comical." Apparently, the frogs get so crazy BCWF Wetlands Education Program/Neil Fletcher p26-37_Summer101.indd 37 AKA "NATURE'S KIDNEYS" (due to their function as a natural filtering system), wetlands sustain more life than any other ecosystem, including many tropical rainforests. Though they exist on every continent except Antarctica, they are also particularly abundant in Canada, where 25 per cent of the Earth's wetlands are found. when breeding that they cluster in mating balls: "You'll get tons of males all trying to grasp one female and occasionally they drown her. Sometimes there will be one male hanging onto this dead female at the bottom of the wetland, and he's holding his breath for a long time because the drive to hang onto his prize is so strong." After human destruction of amphibian habitat, though, the most serious threat to local frog populations is the invasion of the American bullfrog. "They're the bullies of the frog world," says Wind. "They'll march into wetlands and eat anything in sight, including the native frogs." AS THE LAST GROUP STRUGGLES out of the murk, the rest of us gather around the stars of the show for one last look. We can't help but marvel at how such inconspicuous little creatures, albeit with bulging eyes and slimy skin, play such a critical role as thermometers of our planet's health. Despite the biting rain and nearly frozen wet hands, our communal flood of compassion is evident in the way we scramble to place these newfound "friends" gently on the grass, then snap photos from every angle: left, right and centre. Continued on page 45 ECO-WATCH 101 NUMEROUS OPPORTUNITIES exist to lend a hand with B.C. conservation efforts. Just a few of the possibilities: • Monthly Bird Counts on Lost Lagoon and Beaver Lake; beached-bird monitoring. Vancouver. stanleyparkecology.ca • The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup In 2011, volunteers removed more than 143,000 kg of litter from 3,144 km of B.C. coastline. shorelinecleanup.ca • All About the Fish Scuba divers can conduct fish surveys at their fave B.C. dive sites (fishcount.org). Non-divers can also pitch in, with coho identification in the Cariboo (ccconserv.org) and stream rehab in the Comox Valley (morrisoncreek.org) and Vanderhoof (250-567-9542). • Ecosystem Restoration A 50-organization effort. South Okanagan. soscp.org WESTWORLD >> S U M M E R 2 0 1 2 37 4/19/12 7:18:00 AM