In one of the few lucky breaks of sun that we have experienced
lately, I made my way up to Mount Adams for a survey of oregon
spotted frog egg clusters. Spotted frogs have declined in recent
years due to a variety of reasons – some obvious (non-native
frogs like bull frogs, wetland development) and some mysterious.
They are not that easy to spot, but they are usually just under
the surface so polarized sunglasses can help a lot. Below,
biologist Howard Browers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
looks for egg masses I had a chance to use my home-made
underwater robot camera to grab a shot of the eggs just below
the surface. The the embryos develop faster in warm temperatures
and on a sunny day the eggs nearest the top will grow faster
than those at the bottom. A gelatinous sticky mass holds the
eggs together, and the embryos within the egg appear black.
Occasionally you will even see an actual frog such as the
juvenile being held by research scientist Mark Hayes. The
population of oregon spotted frogs in