The role of olfactory cues in predator avoidance in the green frog, Rana clamitans.

Abstract

Olfactory cues play an important role in the lives of many organisms. These chemical stimuli may increase the level of survivorship within a species by aiding its ability to find food, to find suitable habitat, or to avoid predators. This study examined the effect of predator odor on the green frog, Rana clamitans. The eastern garter snake, Thamnophis s. sirtalis, was used as a predator odor and the leopard frog, Rana pipiens, was used as a non-predator odor during the course of this study. Green frogs were tested by transferring the odor of the snakes and leopard frogs onto a saturated paper towel and by then watching the green frogs to see if one type of paper towel was avoided or preferred for a period of ten minutes. The green frog was shown to avoid eastern garter snake odor after an exposure of 105 and 120 seconds in the testing aparatus. No level of preference or avoidance was shown in the green frogs when leopard frog odor was present.