Form Submission: Participation Entry

Climate change disrupts the timing of ecological events, especially for taxa with life histories strictly tied to seasonal changes in habitat. The phenology of the Wood frog (Rana sylvatic), is closely tied to the hydroperiod of vernal pools in which they breed and develop. In this study, we combine multiple long-term datasets to test for phenological shifts in Wood frog (Rana sylvatic) habitat and development. We compared changes in pond habitat (water and air temperature, incident solar radiation, and start-off-season (SOS) estimates from a newly developed Landsat phenology algorithm) with Wood frog larval development (estimated from over 16,500 unique specimens) for 40 pond populations over a 19-year span. We find that increasing spring temperatures and advancement in SOS of the forest canopy coincide with a contraction of the larval period. However, developmental rates among larval increased over the same time, presumably to keep pace with shortening hydroperiods.