Population Ecology of the Invasive American Bullfrog in Southeast Arizona
– Emma Sudbeck –
Master Student in Wildlife Conservation and Management
University of Arizona
The American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) is an invasive amphibian that creates problems for native species around the world, including Arizona. Efforts to eradicate bullfrogs are underway in many places, however, they require an immense amount of time and money so it is important to carry them out effectively using specific knowledge about their ecology. Within southeast Arizona, permanent water sources are few and far between which creates a unique and harsh environment for amphibians, yet bullfrogs still prosper in this environment and threaten native herpetofauna. The goal of our project is to study two aspects of bullfrog ecology in southeast Arizona which can help design and implement bullfrog eradication programs. First, we are studying bullfrog movement ecology to better understand how often and how far they move to help determine the spatial extent of eradication efforts and post-eradication monitoring efforts. Second, we are studying bullfrog reproductive ecology by dissecting carcasses from an ongoing bullfrog eradication project to determine the sizes that females become reproductively mature. This information is important when prioritizing sizes to target during eradication to stop reproduction.
Emma Sudbeck is a master’s student out of the University of Arizona’s School of Environment and Natural Resources and is guided by the Arizona Game and Fish Department. Originally from Colorado, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Zoology from Colorado State University and has since worked with herpetofauna species such as the Mojave desert tortoise and the northern leopard frog. She moved to Tucson and started her Master’s at the University of Arizona in 2023 where she enjoys spending time in the desert and working to gather the data needed to manage one of the greatest threats to Arizona’s aquatic wildlife: the invasive American bullfrog.
