Washington herp atlas

They may experience some sensitivity to potential increases in temperature, which could lead to earlier timing of mating and breeding. Their sensitivity will be increased by potential climate-induced changes in their pond habitat. Adults need deep water, seasonal ponds, and wetlands for breeding habitat and potential warmer, drier conditions could lead to declines in available breeding habitat.

Non-breeding active season habitat for Northern Leopard Frog consists of herbaceous riparian habitat with sufficient surface moisture; this habitat, which is likely the most vulnerable to climate change because of more extreme summer drying, is likely to affect Northern Leopard Frog choices of non-breeding active season habitat, especially during summer conditions - where more severe contraction of that habitat is anticipated. Whether Northern Leopard Frogs might then utilize aquatic habitat more frequently during this season is unclear.

It is also unclear how such a shift might exposure NLF to a different predator set. Drier conditions could even lead to localized population extinctions if breeding ponds become too shallow or disappear completely. Due to the significant reduction in range and abundance of leopard frogs in Washington, and the continued threats to the remaining occupied sites, leopard frog were classified as an endangered species in Washington in The law protects endangered species and prohibits them from being hunted, taken maliciously, harassed, or possessed.

This is for all life stages including adults, juveniles, tadpoles, and eggs. Keeping this species as a pet in Washington is also prohibited because species native to the state cannot be kept in captivity. The only exceptions are for zoos, educational centers, rehabilitation facilities, and research facilities that receive permits from WDFW. See the Climate vulnerability section for information about the threats posed by climate change to the northern leopard frog.

Translation limitations and disclaimer. Category : Amphibians. Ecosystems : Shrubsteppe , Riparian areas. State status : Endangered. Vulnerability to climate change More details. If you see this species, please share your observation using the WDFW wildlife reporting form.

Providing detailed information such as a photo and exact coordinates will improve the confidence and value of this observation to WDFW species conservation and management. Description and Range Physical description. Ecology and life history Northern leopard frogs are semi-aquatic, requiring both aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Geographic range. Climate vulnerability Sensitivity to climate change Low. Confidence: Moderate. Exposure to climate change Low.

Regulations Rules and Seasons Due to the significant reduction in range and abundance of leopard frogs in Washington, and the continued threats to the remaining occupied sites, leopard frog were classified as an endangered species in Washington in SGCN-classified species include both those with and without legal protection status under the Federal or State Endangered Species programs, as well as game species with low populations.

The PHS program is the agency's main means of sharing fish and wildlife information with local governments, landowners, and others who use it to protect priority habitats for land use planning. Conservation Threats and Actions Needed Invasive and other problematic species Threat: Non-native aquatic species including American bullfrogs, mosquito fish and other non-native predatory game fish. Bullfrogs are predatory for all life stages of northern leopard frogs. Non-native predatory game fish, such as bass, prey on the frogs and tadpoles.

Action Needed: 1. Remove mosquito fish from ponds previously occupied by northern leopard frogs. Prevent introduction of non-native fish to ponds occupied by northern leopard frogs. Manage habitat to favor this frog but not favor bullfrogs and fish example, create seasonal ponds. Create and maintain barriers such as dikes that prevent non-native fish from entering ponds occupied by this species. Threat: Unknown impacts to population from disease.

The state status is based on the small number of observations, patchy distribution, and lack of information. Some of the distribution is in the Columbia Basin, which is a heavily altered region of the state heavily impacted by agriculture. The underside is bright orange. These snakes rarely exceed about 22 inches in the Northwest; they typically are around 4 to 6 inches in length. See the Washington Herp Atlas for more details about this species.

Based on collection and observation records, ring-necked snakes occur in ponderosa pine-Oregon white oak, mixed forest, and shrubsteppe. Occurrences in shrubsteppe are often associated with riparian areas. Ring-necked snakes are secretive and rarely surface active during the day. They are usually found under woody debris, rocks or on roads at night. They feed on earthworms, small salamanders and slugs as well as sometimes small lizards, small frogs and juvenile snakes.

Females deposit three to ten eggs per year in June or July. Eggs are deposited in moist locations like stabilized talus and rotting logs. Similar to other snake species in Washington, ring-necked snakes are likely active from March through October varying somewhat from year to year and by location. The main distribution of this species in Washington follows the east slope of the Cascade Mountains from the Ellensburg area south to the Columbia Gorge and west to Longview.

They also occur along the eastern portion of the Snake River. Isolated records of individual snakes were collected in Whitman County in and ; Walla Walla County in ; and two locations in Cowlitz County Kalama and the confluence of Mill Creek and the Columbia River in and , respectively.

Observations for this species are rarely submitted to the WDFW database and no studies have been conducted in Washington. Consequently, nothing is known about the status or abundance of this species. For worldwide distribution of ring-necked snake and other species' information, check out NatureServe Explorer and the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.

Overall, there is a lack of information regarding sensitivity of the ring-necked snake to climate change. Distribution in shrubsteppe is poorly understood largely because of lack of survey effort, however, it is suspected that Individuals that occurrence in shrubsteppe habitats are often associated with riparian areas, and may have higher sensitivity due to habitat drying or altered fire regimes that degrade or eliminate habitat because the current condition of riparian habitats across shrubsteppe landscapes are already generally quite spotty.

Conservation threats to the ring-necked snake include a lack of information on its status and distribution.