AUTHORS: Kaleb M. Banks, Oklahoma State University; Owen M. Edwards, Oklahoma Biological Survey; Bo Zhang, Oklahoma State University; Michael S. Reichert, Oklahoma State University
ABSTRACT: Crawfish frogs (Rana areolata) are in decline across much of their range, primarily due to habitat loss and degradation from agricultural practices that disrupt prairie ecosystems and soil structure. These declines are most pronounced east of the Mississippi River, where R. areolata has been extirpated from 59% of its historical counties. In Oklahoma it has been over 70 years since Arthur Bragg's 1953 crawfish frog study, and the contemporary distribution and status of the species is unclear. Since much of eastern Oklahoma is characterized by low-intensity agriculture, such as cattle ranching, we hypothesize that crawfish frogs in the region may be less vulnerable to population declines compared to other states. To investigate this, we conducted comprehensive frog call surveys, deployed acoustic recorders, and performed visual encounter surveys to identify new populations. Additionally, we used species distribution modeling to identify suitable habitat. During the 2022 and 2023 seasons, we conducted 754 frog call surveys, identifying crawfish frog populations at 276 sites. Additionally, acoustic recorders and visual encounters confirmed frogs at 27 more sites, bringing the total to 303. Our surveys verified populations in all 23 counties originally documented by Bragg, along with four new county records. Our species distribution model identified annual rainfall and the percentage of untilled prairie as the most significant variables influencing crawfish frog range. These findings suggest that low-intensity cattle ranching and lack of tilled soil are likely contributing to this species' success in Oklahoma.
