AUTHORS: Nate Engbrecht, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish & Wildlife
ABSTRACT: Crawfish Frogs (Lithobates areolatus) are a state endangered species that have been the subject of considerable research along the eastern edge of their range in Indiana. Contemporary data indicate the species has undergone a range contraction along the northern and eastern periphery of its distribution in the state, and that extant populations tend to be isolated and widely separated by miles of uninhabitable farmland. The species has shown a remarkable ability to colonize restored sites when suitable habitat becomes available and nearby source populations are present; however, a lack of connecting corridors is restricting natural dispersal. To restore Indiana’s Crawfish Frog populations, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources has begun translocating egg masses from a robust population in Greene County to a recovery site along the Ohio River where a historic Crawfish Frog population once existed, before disappearing in the 1980s. This presentation discusses the historic decline of Crawfish Frogs in Indiana, their current conservation status, and the early stages of species recovery through habitat management and human mediated translocation.
