Where do frogs winter and what do they do in winter? How do frogs prepare for winter?

When you read or hear about amphibians, it becomes interesting how they tolerate low temperatures? For example, where do frogs spend the winter? There are many ways that help amphibians wait out the frosts and maintain viability. They can not change and regulate their body temperature, but they can adjust to the conditions of the environment. Frogs cope with this task perfectly. Each family, genus and species of amphibians have their own set of adaptive changes that help to bear the cold, frost, drought.

Frogs - inhabitants of reservoirs and damp places

Zoological family The real frogs belong to the order of the tailless amphibians, the class of Amphibians. In the rivers, ponds, lakes and marshes of the temperate belt, on the moist meadows, in the gardens and orchards there are several common species belonging to the family Ranidae (frogs present), the genus Rana (Frogs):

• L. lake - R. ridibunda;
• L. pond - R. lessonae
• L. Acute - R. arvalis;
• L. herbaceous - R. temporaria.

To find out how the frog prepares for winter, it is necessary to find out the preferred habitats of the species in other seasons of the year. For reproduction, all amphibians need water reservoirs, where eggs are laid and tadpoles develop.

Features of reproduction of frogs

The marriage period for most amphibians begins in February-March and lasts until early June. At this time, male frogs, while in the water, make loud noises. After fertilization, each female is able to postpone several thousand eggs. In the form of globular clusters and bands, they float at the bottom or surface of the reservoir. From the eggs a week later there are tadpoles. A full cycle of development from the eggs to the tadpole or an adult takes several months. Some species become sexually mature only in the second or third year of life. The number of eggs laid by one female can be from 1000 to 12000. Their main mass perishes even before the appearance of tadpoles. Caviar and young animals become prey to many aquatic animals. Where do frogs and tadpoles winter? The choice of shelter depends on the behavior of these amphibians.

Lifestyle of frogs

Aquatic amphibians do not move away from their habitats throughout the year. The land is spent almost all the time in a marshy area, near ponds and lakes, in meadows and in river valleys. Sometimes they can be found far from water - in populated areas, park plantations, in the fields. Land frogs are sent to the reservoirs mainly during spawning. After its termination, adults leave the ponds and go to places most rich in insects and other invertebrates. In the summer, some species only go out for night hunting. Spring and autumn become cooler, so the daily activity increases. What does a frog do in the winter on land, when the temperature of the air decreases significantly? The cold-blooded amphibian tries to get deeper into the ground, under the leaves, where there is more chance of not freezing.

How does the frog prepare for winter?

Many amphibians living in the water at the bottom find non-freezing places where they can spend the cold season. The largest frogs, hibernating in the waters of Europe, refer to the species R. ridibunda. The distribution area of the lake frog is extensive - from the Rhine and to Iran. The female body reaches 17 cm in length, the males are 5 cm shorter. The predominant color is green and brown in color and large black-brown spots. On the back there is a light strip, and on the belly a marble pattern is clearly visible. Lake frogs all the time are in water, even inhabiting deep, fast-flowing rivers. What does a frog do in the winter? The behavior of a cold-blooded animal depends on the climate of the terrain and weather conditions. The lake frog begins to prepare for hibernation at a water temperature of about 6-9 ° C. With further cooling, adult individuals and tadpoles burrow into the bottom silt. At the bottom of lakes, rivers and deep ponds, they spend the whole winter, and breathe through the skin.

Where do winter frogs live on land?

Land way of life is led by frogs, grassy and pointed (marsh). The species R. temporaria is inferior in size to R. ridibunda. Its length does not exceed 11 cm, the top color is brown with dark stripes, the abdomen - grayish-white. This is one of the most common amphibians in the northern and middle parts of Eurasia. How does the frog prepare for winter with a terrestrial way of life? When the autumn cold begins, the search for a secluded place begins. For wintering, frogs are suitable:

• Pits with a bunch of foliage;
• Mink rodents and emptiness in the ground;
• Stubby stumps;
• Large stones;
• Low-lying hollows of trees;
• Cellars.

How do the amphibians of the family Quaksa or Drevesnitsa (Hylidae) spend the winter?

Quaksa are small tailless frogs, usually green in color. They live on trees and bushes, clinging to the crooked irregularities of the suckers on their paws. At night, tree frogs descend from the trees down in search of food, but for reproduction they prefer to find accumulations of moisture in hollows of trees, leafy rosettes. Wintering of tree frogs differs from the wintering of aquatic amphibians. By way of life, they are more like land representatives of the family Ranidae. The following species of the genus Kvaksha are most common in the middle zone of Russia: C. vulgaris, C. maloasian, K. Far Eastern. In the autumn, the woods burrow into the forest litter, hide in hollows, burrows, under rocks. Before the winter begins, the color of the amphibians darkens, more carbohydrates are produced in their body, which protects them from death in frost. In the spring, the frogs thaw out and go looking for places to spawn.

Why do cold-blooded amphibians not die of frost?

Where do frogs living on land and in water disappear for the winter? Land species in autumn try to get deeper into the ground, under the leaves, where there is more chance of not freezing. Some amphibians fall into a deep sleep. Before the frogs go to rest, they must find a suitable place for hibernation, both on land and in water. In the cold months they lie motionless in their shelters, being at rest. In the sleeping mode, all processes of vital activity in the body slow down. The temperature in the winter shelter can drop to minus signs. Sometimes the wood remains alive even after freezing. In the role of "antifreeze" are carbohydrates in the blood and urea. Representatives of other families may die from frost. With the onset of the first heat at the end of winter and early spring, frogs, at rest, begin to return to their normal life.

The importance of wetlands for frogs

For winter shelters amphibians use bottom silt, driftwood, flora of plants. Land frogs in winter in the temperate zone hibernate, finding for this secluded place. In the spring and summer they need water for reproduction. After winter rest, when it gets warmer, they go to lakes and ponds. The process of mating, spawning and development of tadpoles takes a long time. For many land species, the marriage period begins even on the road from the wintering grounds to the spawning grounds. It is interesting that females sometimes help males to endure the hardships of traveling, carrying them on their backs. Frogs spawn in ponds with standing water, choosing for this purpose any suitable places: ponds, ditches and puddles. The name of the class "Amphibians" recalls the role of the habitat for this group of animals. In lakes, rivers, marshes, many species of amphibians live. They feed on insects that are found in water bodies, they themselves serve as food for larger animals. Thus, frogs are an important part of the food chain.

The adaptive mechanisms of amphibians

Finding out what the frog does in winter, one can argue: adaptation to the conditions of the environment for them is very important. Especially great endurance are the species that live in the northern part of the temperate zone. Significant changes occur in the organisms of wintering amphibian species:

• Increased blood glucose;
• Increases the concentration of urea in the body;
• Organ systems slow or stop their work;
• Motor activity stops;
• There is no breath;
• The heart does not beat.

Scientists assess the role of urea in adaptation highly. Increasing its content can serve as a "trigger mechanism" for transition to a state of hibernation. Adaptations in the form of deep dormancy are found not only in species inhabiting the forest and steppe zones. Just as frogs hibernate in the temperate zone, tropical and tropical amphibians spend a hot and arid season. There are advantages in this way of life. Amphibians do not have to spend energy on the fight against cold or heat.

It is not so important where the frogs spend the winter. Almost all of them after the state of rest remain viable and immediately begin to multiply.