Leap Frog: Different Species Have Different Jumping Styles Depending on Their Environment

It's a matter of leap frog. Scientists have found that a frog will adopt a different type of hop or jumping style depending on its environment and what species it is. The findings reveal a little bit more about how these amphibians adapt to their surroundings, an important discovery considering how climate change is currently impacting various regions.

"We searched actively for the frogs at night after heavy rains during their breeding season, as they are more likely to be active," said Marta Vidal-Garcia, one of the researchers, in a news release. She spent days in the field catching frogs by hand and filming with two high-speed filming cameras in order to record a three-dimensional view of frogs jumping. The scientists in the study then analyzed the video frame by frame with computer software, including variables such as height, distance and speed.

In the end, the researchers found that frogs from different habitats also had different jumping styles. They discovered that tree-dwelling frogs reached great heights but didn't cover as much distance with their jumps. Aquatic frogs, in contrast, jumped long distances but remained close to the ground. Burrowing frogs were both low in height and distance.

That's not all they found out, though. It turns out that the frogs from different habitats also had distinct shapes.

"Burrowing frogs have very squat bodies and short limbs," said Vidal-Garcia. "This is because they tend to occupy arid environments so this helps to minimize water loss through their permeable skin. The aquatic frogs, however, have more streamlined bodies with longer limbs to improve swimming ability."

In the future, the researchers plan to do more fieldwork in order to collect data from even more species of frogs. More specifically, they hope to investigate how the shape of a frog's pelvis can influence its jumping style.