Ribbit. Ribbit. Ribbit.
Actually, buzz, squeak, and chirp might be closer approximations to Southwest Florida’s frog calls, something you’ll discover if you join the upcoming Frog Watch survey on Friday night, August 9. The Garden is one of three stops in Naples’ Bayshore District where frog lovers (aka citizen scientists) will look and listen for the amphibians while meeting new people, learning about wildlife, and contributing to a broader knowledgebase along the way.
“The more ears we have, the more data we can collect,” says Jeannine Young, an environmental scientist who founded the neighborhood initiative last year. New participants are welcome to join Friday’s event. Pre-registration is encouraged but not required.
Frogs can tell you a lot about an ecosystem, Young says. They hint at a waterbody’s health, signal whether a habitat has been disturbed, suggest if a non-native species has disrupted the food chain, and allude to myriad other measures of nature’s function—or dysfunction. Often, it’s the lack of frog calls that alerts scientists to a problem, she explains.
Citizen science projects like Frog Watch are critical to helping scientists track changes over time and discern trends.
“Scientists can’t be everywhere all at once, and that void is what citizen science fills,” says Mary Helen Reuter, the Garden’s Director of Education and Interpretation, who participates in citizen science projects and encourages Garden colleagues and guests to do the same.
Many birders, including those at the Garden, log their finds on eBird, a global database with more than 100 million bird sightings recorded each year. Another database, iNaturalist, has nearly 203 million observations of plants and wildlife, contributed by 3 million people around the world, both scientists and non-scientists. The data collected are particularly useful in helping scientists understand the impact of climate change, Reuter says.
Young’s fledgling Frog Watch program is not connected to a larger database yet, but she aspires to link it to one in the future. “We’re getting baseline data,” she explains. A Florida Gulf Coast University graduate, Young first discovered frog surveys through a professor who participates in the Southwest Florida Amphibian Monitoring Program and encourages his students to join him.
Young and her husband, Ryan, are partners in Naples Outfitters (the first stop on the frog survey) and own Rising Tide Explorers, an eco-tourism company. But before that, Young was a science educator at Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and her love of teaching shines through.
“Frogs are amazing!” she said, emphasizing the “amazing,” as she greeted volunteers for the July survey and led them through a primer on frog calls. Among the roughly two dozen participants were Reuter and other Garden staff, environmentalists, and community members, including two little girls dressed in frog T-shirts and galoshes.
The event’s impetus was science, but its vibe was social—perfectly suited for Friday nights. Volunteers trekked to a pond behind Naples Outfitters, and caravaned by car to East Naples Community Park and the Garden, where volunteers surveyed the bioswales and Rain Garden in the parking lot and Reuter offered a mini-lesson on how these features treat runoff and improve water quality. At each spot, someone would start a 3-minute timer, and the group would strain eyes and ears to watch and listen.
“We just found a frog!” squealed one of the girls, 5-year-old Molly Carroll. Later, she said she came because, “It’s super fun.” Her mom, Pamela, explained she’d learned about the opportunity through a neighborhood Facebook group.
During the July survey, eight species were detected among the three locations.
In addition to the August 9th session, a final one will be held on September 13. While Young will offer instruction onsite, you can explore Florida Museum of Natural History recordings of native frog calls in advance if you wish.
“I just love the outdoors and want to give more people an opportunity to learn about it,” Young says. “This is about learning and contributing to something bigger than yourself.”
For more information on Frog Watch, contact Naples Outfitters at 239.262.6149 or email naplesoutfitters@gmail.com.
About the Author
Jennifer Reed is the Garden’s Editorial Director and a longtime Southwest Florida journalist.
