Amphibian Populations of Devils Knob, Wintergreen, VA

This most recent summer, I had a wonderful opportunity to study amphibians as part of a Forestry program at Wintergreen Resort in Wintergreen, Virginia. I used 10 different testing sites, 5 on the mountain and 5 at the base of the mountain, and with the assistance of non harmful frog traps. With the data taken from the top and bottom of Devils Knob as well as the broader Blue Ridge Mountain Range, we drew the conclusion that the frog species in the Blue Ridge prefer a lower elevation to breed and live. This is heavily tied to the amount of vernal pools and lakes that are found. Less ponds and vernal pools are found at the top of Devils Knob compared to the bottom. This is corroborated by the data found from the greater Blue Ridge area. Additionally, more marshes and wetlands are found at lower elevations which tend to attract a large bug population. This can directly influence the location of frog populations since without frog food, or bugs, less frogs will be found in that area. The data also showed that Wintergreen is a good place to spot certain frog species that aren't present elsewhere in the Blue Ridge. Despite having less activity at Wintergreen, the visual data taken from tadpoles indicated that the frogs, though fewer in number, are healthy. In conclusion, though frog activity is recorded as being less than the wider Blue Ridge range, certain species of frogs have been reported being found the most active at Wintergreen such as the Eastern Cricket Frog. 


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