Hop to it! Dispersal patterns in recently-metmorphosed Rayna draytonii froglets

Migration is an evolutionary response to limited resource availability, and competition avoidance among species. Amphibians often make terrestrial movements between aqautic sites to breed and/or disperse to allocate additional resources. Recently-metamorphosed amphibians, such as frogs often face intense selection as they transition from the aquatic landscape to the terrestrial one, since they are often naive to the landscape which surrounds the pond. Despite entering a terrestrial life stage, they remain heavily tied to moisture in order to avoid death by desiccation. These vulnerable juveniles must reach a secondary aquatic site in hopes of survival to avoid competition with their cohort, or depredation by adults returning to breed. Rana dryatonii is a species of special concern that must undergo these treacherous terrestrial movements in hopes of surviving to breeding age, in order to perpetuate the species. In this study, we explore these initial terrestrial movements.