Moving frogspawn?

fleabag · 10-03-2014 11:42am #1

There is a large amount of frogspawn in a pond in a boggy field near me. The frogs spawned in a pond that appeared after all the heavy rain and now the pond is receding. Some of the frogspawn was left high and dry and I moved that on Saturday into deeper water in a ditch but there is loads still left in ankle deep water and I'm afraid it will die f the water dries out.

Is it ok to move it into deeper water? I am worried about the difference in water chemistry but surely it's better to risk that than leave it to dry out? All advice gratefully received and thank you

Half-cocked · 10-03-2014 11:47am

It should be OK to move, and the Wildlife Act actually allows you move it where it is in danger!

fleabag · 11-03-2014 9:51am

Thanks for that, will do. I 'encouraged' some more frogspawn into deeper water last night but there is an unbelievable amount of it - great spawning season for the froggies and I'm looking forward to seeing all the little froglets hopping through the grass soon.
Just out of interest, how long does it take from spawn to tadpoles to frogs?

dodderangler · 11-03-2014 10:16am

It differs with species but since it'd be common frog in Ireland it usually about 6-8 weeks if predators don't get a hold of em. Seen some in corkagh park years ago absolutely destroyed by two big rainbows

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 11-03-2014 10:37am

The egg develops into a tadpole in 10-21 days (the higher the temperature the shorter the development time). Then between 12 and 14 weeks later, having passed through various stages, the froglet is complete.

Tiercel Dave · 11-03-2014 11:12am

@ Scrameen Slightly off topic, apologies! Did you ever have any experience of tadpoles 'wintering' over? I remember a few years back I found tadpoles in late March that were at least double the size of normal ones. The only explanation I could come up with was that they had spent the winter as tadpoles! Dave

Alun · 11-03-2014 12:24pm

Tiercel Dave wrote: »

@ Scrameen Slightly off topic, apologies! Did you ever have any experience of tadpoles 'wintering' over? I remember a few years back I found tadpoles in late March that were at least double the size of normal ones. The only explanation I could come up with was that they had spent the winter as tadpoles! Dave

There have been some threads on the phenomenon of overwintering tadpoles here in recent years, and yes it can and does happen.

http://www.froglife.org/info-advice/spawn-tadpoles-behaviour/

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 11-03-2014 2:35pm

Tiercel Dave wrote: »

@ Scrameen Slightly off topic, apologies! Did you ever have any experience of tadpoles 'wintering' over? I remember a few years back I found tadpoles in late March that were at least double the size of normal ones. The only explanation I could come up with was that they had spent the winter as tadpoles! Dave

Alun covered it but yes I did. Some never develop into frogs.

Alun · 11-03-2014 2:37pm

Saylor Swift Keynote wrote: »

Some never develop into frogs.

What happens to them then? Do they just die while still tadpoles?

dodderangler · 11-03-2014 2:42pm

Alun wrote: »

What happens to them then? Do they just die while still tadpoles?

If there's nothing to eat they'll die I'm assuming. Pretty sure all tadpoles are cannibals so the stronger will eat the weaker.
Probably just eat larvae and buzzers then.

JonKelleher · 11-03-2014 2:44pm

Yes, I have successfully 'relocated' frog spawn in the past. I was in the exact same position as yourself, and it was purely out of necessity.

Obliq · 11-03-2014 8:44pm

There certainly is shed-loads of frog spawn this year - hopefully though, they didn't spawn too early. Last year with the severe late frost, there were hardly any tadpoles after the jelly froze. Heartbreaking to see all the withered frog spawn. I'm a bit concerned about them this week, as for my peach blossoms in the poly tunnel. Hmmm. Pity the cold spell wasn't 3 weeks ago.

dodderangler · 11-03-2014 9:13pm

Obliq wrote: »

There certainly is shed-loads of frog spawn this year - hopefully though, they didn't spawn too early. Last year with the severe late frost, there were hardly any tadpoles after the jelly froze. Heartbreaking to see all the withered frog spawn. I'm a bit concerned about them this week, as for my peach blossoms in the poly tunnel. Hmmm. Pity the cold spell wasn't 3 weeks ago.

But the year before that seen the frogspawn fried.
Seen it up in blessington. Water levels dropped with the heat and lack of rain and the frogs spawned too early and well the basically lost the water and got fried

Obliq · 11-03-2014 9:25pm

dodderangler wrote: »

But the year before that seen the frogspawn fried.
Seen it up in blessington. Water levels dropped with the heat and lack of rain and the frogs spawned too early and well the basically lost the water and got fried

Yeah, they get a hard time of it! Like the OP was concerned about - they so often spawn in a flooded part that then recedes, or in a full ditch that clears itself.... No drying up around my area, but my stream and pond have never emptied in the 13 yrs I've been here. The place was full of frogs until about 4 years ago, then the population was properly set back. Maybe the hard winters?

fleabag · 12-03-2014 1:39pm

I moved some more last night, the pond is receding fairly rapidly in this weather but I noticed with most of the spawn I was moving that the tadpoles are nearly ready and in some case they were swimming around after I moved then into deeper water. Hopefully, another few days and they'll all be tadploes and be able to make their way into the deeper water (the pond is a kind of bog overflow).

Some of the water has oil in it and is discoloured and the spawn itself was browny. How do they handle pollution of this kind, will it kill them?

Obliq · 12-03-2014 3:23pm

fleabag wrote: »

Some of the water has oil in it and is discoloured and the spawn itself was browny. How do they handle pollution of this kind, will it kill them?

That's probably just from the peat. It does release natural oils from the plant matter it's made from, and browny powdery sludge. I've seen it before mixed into frog spawn next to a bog.

dodderangler · 12-03-2014 10:42pm

Obliq wrote: »

Yeah, they get a hard time of it! Like the OP was concerned about - they so often spawn in a flooded part that then recedes, or in a full ditch that clears itself.... No drying up around my area, but my stream and pond have never emptied in the 13 yrs I've been here. The place was full of frogs until about 4 years ago, then the population was properly set back. Maybe the hard winters?

They'd be safer in some smaller pool if they didn't dry up.
In a lake the pike, perch and trout have a field day on them. Then the herons arrive while the frogs are mating and take them.
Hard life being a frog

Obliq · 13-03-2014 8:04am

dodderangler wrote: »

They'd be safer in some smaller pool if they didn't dry up.
In a lake the pike, perch and trout have a field day on them. Then the herons arrive while the frogs are mating and take them.
Hard life being a frog

Yeah, I've spotted the odd heron at my (smallish, and boggy, with bullrushes) pond, but it's not that visible from the air luckily as it's in a small plantation. At one time the frogs were so numerous that as you'd walk through the wood in early summer, baby frogs would be constantly leaping out of the way....:)

Moving frogspawn?

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