Eleutherodactylus planirostris

Geographic Range

Eleutherodactylus planirostris is a small frog species native to several Caribbean islands, including Cuba, the Caymans (specifically Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac), and the Bahamas (specifically Eleuthera, Little Bahama Bank, South Bimini, and New Providence). From their origin in western Cuba (a population that is genetically distinct from populations in eastern Cuba, Jamaica, the Caymans, and the Bahamas), they have been introduced to mainland United States, Mexico, and Hawaii. Eleutherodactylus planirostris was introduced via the soil of imported tropical plants and in landscaping materials, where individuals went unnoticed because of their small size and faint advertisement call. Breeding populations have been established in Guam, and several U.S. states, including Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. There are isolated colonies found in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.

• Biogeographic Regions
• nearctic nearctic
  • introduced introduced
• neotropical neotropical
  • native native
• oceanic islands oceanic islands
  • introduced introduced

Habitat

Greenhouse frogs are widely distributed in the tropical Caribbean, predominantly in locations with a climate similar to that of Cuba, an island with a variable, tropical climate characterized by a dry season with a mean temperature of 22 °C and a wet season with a mean temperature of 29°C. Greenhouse frogs are found in both residential areas and natural habitats, with most populations residing in lowland habitats. They are usually found on the forest floor, where they hide under logs, leaf litter, debris, and in crevices along stream banks. Adults are common in moist substrates, and, in residential areas, can be found in greenhouses and gardens, and beneath mulch, boards, or stones. Because of their high tolerance for dry conditions, they can also live in the open grasslands and pastures of Jamaica, and in the grasslands, scrub habitats, and coastal areas of Florida.

• Habitat Regions
• tropical tropical
• terrestrial terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• savanna or grassland savanna or grassland
• forest forest
• rainforest rainforest
• scrub forest scrub forest

• Aquatic Biomes
• rivers and streams

• Other Habitat Features
• urban urban
• suburban suburban
• riparian riparian

Physical Description

Greenhouse frogs are granular-skinned frogs that range in length from 12 to 30 mm. Individuals exhibit several background colors, including brown, reddish brown, or bronze, and two pattern phases. The recessive mottled phase has dark (brown) and light (tan) coloration, often with a faint v-shaped band on the back and a band between the eyes. The dominant, striped phase has two light, dorsolateral stripes starting at the eyes and terminating at the posterior end. The frog has a light gray or white belly with fine brown stippling and reddish eyes. Greenhouse frogs have slender fingers and toes without webbing and with small, terminal toe pads. Greenhouse frogs are sexually dimorphic. The snout-vent length (SVL) is variable among populations, but female frogs are always larger than males. In Hawaii, the mean female SVL is 22 mm while the mean male SVL is 17 mm. In Cuba and Florida, the female SVL ranges from 26.5 to 28 mm while the male SVL ranges from 17.5 to 21 mm.

• Other Physical Features
• ectothermic ectothermic
• heterothermic heterothermic
• bilateral symmetry bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• female larger

Development

Fertilized greenhouse frog eggs hatch directly into tiny froglets after an in-egg development and metamorphosis period of around 2 weeks. Development may be accelerated by warmer temperatures, with hatching occurring as early as 13 days and as late as 20 days post-deposition. To hatch, eggs require 100% humidity. Hatchlings are about 9 to 11 mm long with an SVL of 4.3 to 5.7 mm. They look very similar to adults, with the addition of a reduced tail and tooth, both of which detach after hatching. Both males and females reach sexual maturity within the first year of life.

• Development - Life Cycle
• metamorphosis metamorphosis

Reproduction

There is no information on the mating system of greenhouse frogs in the literature.

Greenhouse frogs breed during the spring and summer. In Cuba and Florida, they breed more during the wet season than the dry season, whereas in Hawaii, they breed almost exclusively in the wet season. Males call to females at night and when relative humidity is 84 to 100%. The call is a soft series of 4 to 5 irregular chirps with sound pressure levels of 35 to 45 decibels at 0.5 meters. Males call from under debris, from the ground, or on vegetation under 1 m from the ground. Each female lays a clutch of about 20 eggs (range: 3 to 26 eggs). Eggs are laid on the ground under moist cover such as clumps of vegetation, under debris, in leaf litter, and even in the soil of potted plants.

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous iteroparous
• seasonal breeding seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual sexual
• fertilization fertilization
  • external external
• oviparous oviparous

No parental care is given to offspring after hatching. Hatchlings are on their own as soon as they emerge from their eggs. Females invest substantial energy into the eggs before they mate and become fertilized.

• Parental Investment
• no parental involvement
• pre-fertilization
  • provisioning
  • protecting
    • female

Lifespan/Longevity

There is no information on the lifespan or longevity of greenhouse frogs in the literature.

Behavior

Greenhouse frogs are primarily nocturnal and individuals are most active during and following rains. They are especially active on warm, overcast, or rainy days. During the day, and in periods of dry weather, greenhouse frogs seek the shelter of various objects, both natural and artificial. In March, in the southern Florida Everglades, they hibernate under the loose bark of the wild tamarind ( Lysiloma latisiliquum ), a small shade tree common in southern Florida.

• Key Behaviors
• terricolous
• nocturnal nocturnal
• motile motile
• sedentary sedentary
• solitary solitary

Home Range

There is no specific information on the home range of greenhouse frogs in the literature. The population density of both adult and pre-adult greenhouse frogs in a Hawaiian sample was 12,522 frogs per hectare.

Communication and Perception

Greenhouse frogs have a U-shaped response to light, responding more strongly to wavelengths in the red and violet areas of the visible spectrum than to intermediate wavelengths. Potential mates communicate via vocalizations. It's also likely that they perceive touch well, since that is part of the mating amplexus behavior.

• Communication Channels
• acoustic acoustic

• Perception Channels
• visual visual
• tactile tactile
• acoustic acoustic

Food Habits

The diet of greenhouse frogs differs among populations. In Jamaica, primary animal foods are ants, beetles, and roaches. In Hawaii, primary animal foods are ants, beetles, mites, spiders, and longlegs.

Greenhouse frogs eat small invertebrates, such as ants , beetles , mites , spiders , and cockroaches .

• Primary Diet
• carnivore carnivore
  • insectivore insectivore
  • eats non-insect arthropods

• Animal Foods
• insects

Predation

Greenhouse frogs are eaten by a variety of carnivorous animals, including invertebrates, other frogs, lizards, snakes, birds, and mammals. Known predators include brown tree snakes ( Boiga irregularis ), Cuban racers ( Cubophis cantherigerus ), Grand Cayman racers ( Cubophis caymanus ), Bahamian brown racers ( Cubophis vudii ), Cuban tree frogs ( Osteopilus septentrionalis ), and ringneck snakes ( Diadophis punctatus ). Their cryptic coloration (dull, brown color and mottled skin pattern) helps them avoid detection by predators.

Greenhouse frogs are eaten by a variety of carnivorous animals, including invertebrates, other frogs, lizards, snakes, birds, and mammals. Known predators include brown tree snakes , Cuban racers , Grand Cayman racers , Bahamian brown racers , Cuban tree frogs , and ringneck snakes . They are cryptically colored to help them avoid predators.

• Anti-predator Adaptations
• cryptic cryptic

Ecosystem Roles

Greenhouse frogs have little impact on the ecosystems they have been introduced to. It may be difficult to determine more subtle impacts, such as adverse effects on native insects and competition with native frogs and other animals. Greenhouse frogs could eat native arthropods, which could negatively impact native insectivorous birds that would have to compete with them for food. In Florida, for example, greenhouse frogs compete for food with lizards like Florida reef geckos and mole skinks , which are already threatened because they are habitat specialists and their habitat is rapidly disappearing. Conversely, in Hawaii, greenhouse frogs eat non-native insect species, such as Argentine ants, big-headed ants, and yellow crazy ants, that negatively affect native invertebrates. Introduction of a non-native frog species like greenhouse frogs could make the establishment and spread of other invasive species easier. They may serve as an abundant prey source for nonnative, invasive predators. In Guam, for example, greenhouse frogs could become a food source for populations of rats, mongooses, and brown tree snakes. The addition of greenhouse frogs to the ecosystem could disrupt nutrient flow through the native food web. Invertebrates eaten by greenhouse frogs play an important role in the decomposition of plant material. One study, however, found that leaf litter decomposition rates were increased and herbivory rates decreased in areas with greenhouse frogs. The frogs made nutrients more available to plants and microbes, which could give invasive plants an advantage over native species that have adapted to nutrient-poor conditions.

Greenhouse frogs are burrow symbionts of gopher tortoises ( Gopherus polyphemus ). They have been observed sharing ground cover with indigenous eastern narrow-mouthed toads ( Gastrophryne carolinensis ). In Cuba, nematodes parasitize greenhouse frogs. Overall, pathogens have a low potential for using this species as a host because viruses and diseases tend to afflict tadpole stages.

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Greenhouse frogs generally go unnoticed. Some residents enjoy their soft calls and purposefully move these frogs to their gardens.

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

Greenhouse frogs and their eggs are often moved inadvertently with landscape materials. Nurseries must treat infested shipments with citric acid and use various control methods to reduce the number of pests, increasing shipment costs and decreasing trade. These frogs are also a nuisance for businesses and homeowners because they may find their way into swimming pools and irrigation boxes.

• Negative Impacts
• household pest

Conservation Status

Greenhouse frogs are not considered threatened because populations are large and found throughout a large area. Greenhouse frogs readily adapt to human disturbed habitats.

Additional Links

AmphibiaWeb

Encyclopedia of Life

BioKIDS Critter Catalog

Contributors

Stephanie Cervino (author), The College of New Jersey, Keith Pecor (editor), The College of New Jersey, Tanya Dewey (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

References

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Fernández, S., F. Barcala, R. Medina, D. Ortiz, H. Núñez. 2008. . Epidemiology of asthma mortality in Cuba and its relation to climate, 1989 to 2003. MEDJCC Review , 10: 24-29.

Fuller, P. 2013. "Greenhouse Frog – Point Map" (On-line). NAS program. Accessed October 23, 2013 at http://nas2.er.usgs.gov/viewer/omap.aspx?SpeciesID=61 .

Hailman, J., R. Jaeger. 1974. Phototactic responses to spectrally dominant stimuli and use of colour vision by adult anuran amphibians: a comparative study. Animal Behaviour , 22: 757-795.

Heinicke, M., L. Diaz, S. Hedges. 2011. Origin of invasive Florida frogs traced to Cuba. Biology Letters , 7: 407-410.

Jensen, J., C. Camp, W. Gibbons, M. Elliot. 2008. Amphibians and Reptiles of Georgia . Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.

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Meshaka, W., J. Boundy, A. Williams. 2009. The dispersal of the Greenhouse frog, Eleutherodactylus planirostris (Anura: Eleutherodactylidae), in Louisiana, with preliminary observations on several potential exotic colonizing species. Journal of Kansas Herpetology , 32: 12-16.

O'Neill, E. 2009. "Evolutionary Consequences of the Introduction of Eleutherodactylus coqui to Hawaii" (On-line pdf). Ph.D. Thesis. Utah State University. Accessed October 23, 2013 at http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1278&context=etd .

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Olson, C. 2011. "Diet, Density, and Distribution of the Introduced Greenhouse Frog, Eleutherodactylus planirostris , on the Island of Hawaii" (On-line pdf). Ph.D. Thesis. Utah State University. Accessed October 23, 2013 at http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/866/ .

Sin, H., K. Beard, W. Pitt. 2008. An invasive frog, Eleutherodactylus coqui , increases new leaf production and leaf litter decomposition rates through nutrient cycling in Hawaii. Biological Invasions , 10: 355-345.

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