Frogs - Pictures

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Frogs Pictures - Reproduction

The process of reproduction usually takes place on rainy nights. Males call females in for copulation. Finding a mate, the male gets onto a female, grabbing it around the waist (amplexing), which stimulates the female's hormones responsible for release of egg cells. The male releases sperm, which fertilizes the female cells. Eggs have no protective shell and are stored in a sticky substance until they hatch. A Frog lays eggs in clusters; however, a toad arranges them in prolonged parallel chain-like patterns. Larvae of both frogs and toads stay in water until adulthood. Then toads move onto land.

Frogs Pictures - Hazardous Intrusion of Humans

Active interference by humans produces irretrievable effects on the natural environment. Some species have recently slumped in number, some are already considered extinct. The destruction of forests eliminates insects, which is all that frogs eat. So they are either starved to death or forced to leave their environment. Such movements may trigger the redistribution of frog populations, which may prove literally disastrous for people.

Notable is the case when the US government had to establish a hotline for residents of Big Island of Hawaii, which was infiltrated by frogs within a short period of time. They reproduced in vast numbers and at a tremendous rate. During mating seasons the chirping of thousands of frogs merged into a roar loud enough to be comparable to the noise of an aircraft. It should be mentioned once again that frogs usually copulate at nighttime, a time when they are most vocal.

What happened in Northern California Waterways is another example. The introduction by man of aggressive exotic African clawed frogs has lead to the disappearance of native species and total loss of natural balance. Since they can survive among all possible hazards, these frogs are apt to promptly get accustomed to these new conditions and consume any species fitting into their mouths.

There are many reports by scientists about frogs with deformities (missing or extra limbs, under-evolved eyes, etc.) that are found in industrial districts all over the globe. These damages to frogs can be used to determine early signs of environmental hazards as well as support naturalists' appeals to discontinue destructive events.

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