western spotted frog (rana pretiosa) distribution in the

31
WESTERN SPOTTED FROG (Rana pretiosa) DISTRIBUTION IN THE BONNEVILLE BASIN OF WESTERN UTAH AND AQUATIC RESOURCE DESCRIPTION OF TULE VALLEY (WHITE VALLEY) OF WESTERN UTAH Research in Progress Peter Hovingh Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah February 1984

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Page 1: WESTERN SPOTTED FROG (Rana pretiosa) DISTRIBUTION IN THE

WESTERN SPOTTED FROG (Rana pretiosa) DISTRIBUTION

IN THE BONNEVILLE BASIN OF WESTERN UTAH

AND

AQUATIC RESOURCE DESCRIPTION OF TULE VALLEY

(WHITE VALLEY) OF WESTERN UTAH

Research in Progress

Peter Hovingh

Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah

February 1984

Page 2: WESTERN SPOTTED FROG (Rana pretiosa) DISTRIBUTION IN THE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION METHODS AND MATERIALS GENERAL OBSERVATIONS IN TULE VALLEY

Aquatic Resources in Tule Valley Plants in the greasewood faciation Animals in the greasewood community Geological notes

TULE VALLEY WETLANDS: DETAILED OBSERVATIONS Coyote Springs Complex North-central Springs Complex

I

2

3

3

4

5

7 8

8

9 Saline Ponds complex 9 South-central Springs Complex 9 North Tule springs complex 10 South Tule springs complex 12 South Spring complex 12

WESTERN SPOTTED FROG BIOLO&Y IN TULE VALLEY 14 Breeding behavior in Tule Valley 14 Embryonic and tadpole observations 14 Immature frog observations 15 Adult breeding sizes 15 Population numbers 15 Aquatic parameters of the Western Spotted Frog in Tule

Valley 16 CURRENT STATUS AND BIOGEOGRAPHICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF THE

WESTERN SPOTTED FROG IN THE GREAT BASIN 18 Mobility and isolation of the western spatted frog in

Tule Valley 18 Biogeographic distribution in the Bonneville Basin 19 Current distribution of the western spotted frog 20 Subspeciation in the western spotted frog 23

MANAGEMENT PLAN PROPOSAL FOR THE WESTERN SPOTTED FROG 24 MANAGEMENT PLAN PROPOSAL FOR TULE VALLEY WETLANDS 25 REFERENCES

TABLES AND FIGURES

Page 3: WESTERN SPOTTED FROG (Rana pretiosa) DISTRIBUTION IN THE

INTRODUCTION

The Western Spotted Frog (Rana pretiosa) is widely distributed in many isolated populations throughout Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Alberta, British Columbia, and Alaska. These isolated populations could probably be explained by events which occurred during the last glaciation some 20,000 years ago. In Utah the distribution has been identified as Deep Creek in western Utah and along the Wasatch Front. With the location of the ·Western Spotted Frog in Tule Valley, a close examination of the locations in Utah and Nevada shows that one can postulate that the Western Spotted Frog was widely distributed in the Bonneville Basin at the time of Lake Bonneville. Subsequent desiccation of Lake Bonneville some 11,000 years ago left many isolated populations. Some of these populations may be now extinct (Thousand Springs and Salt

Lake Valley). It would be of great scientific interest to study all the isolated populations of the Western Spotted Frog by biochemical means to determine if the Western Spotted Frog has been evolving into distinct populations since the glacial and pluvial times.

The Tule Valley population of the Western Spotted Frog may consists of at least four separate and isolated populations. Tule Valley contains numerous springs and wetlands in the bottom of the valley. Since the springs are slightly alkaline and saline and since much of the valley consists of saline playas, conductivity, temperature, and pH values were taken throughout the year. It was determine that the terminus of the springs (where the Western Spotted Frog bred) was not accumulating salts. Since many of the springs were warm water springs {temperature 27-29 C), these springs and wetlands provide great opportunity to study the biological adaptations to saline, alkaline, and temperature variations and gradients.

Page 4: WESTERN SPOTTED FROG (Rana pretiosa) DISTRIBUTION IN THE

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS IN TULE VALLEY

AQUATIC RESOURCES IN TULE VALLEY. Tule Valley is located in western Utah between 38° 451 and 39° 45

1 latitude north and between 113° 15' and 113° 45

1

longitude west. Tule Valley drainage basin consists of about 243 square kilometers (940 square miles) (Stephens, 1977) with a subsurface inflow of 29.6 hm3 (24,000 acre-feet) and precipitation of 9.4 hm3 (7,600 acre-feet) (Gates and Kruer, 1981). Evapotranspiration results in 39.5 hm3 (32,000 acre-feet) of water leaving the valley (Stephens, 1977 and Gates and Kruer, 1981). Minor contributions of ground water discharge come from the House Range (Painter, Wildhorse and Sinbad Springs) and the Confusion Range

(Skunk and Willow Springs) and will not be discussed further. The central wetlands and springs account for most of the discharge of water from the subsurface flows and the greasewood faciation of the northern desert shrub biome surround these springs and account for most of the evapotranspiration. The wetlands in this report are all located between 1347 and 1350 m (4419 and 4428 feet) elevation and the lowest adjacent lands are 1340 and 1344 m

(4395 and 4409 feet) elevation. Figure 1 shows the map of central Tule Valley and the locations of the wetlands. Figure 2 shows a cross-section of Tule Valley and the location of the springs. Figure 3 shows the detailed location of the central springs and wetlands.

Table 1 shows that the mean temperature of the springs varied between 15 and 31 C and that conductivity varied between 1530 and 2730 umhos/cm. As the water flowed from the source of these springs, the seasonal temperature ranged from frozen in winter to 34 C in summer and the conductivity could double in some portions distal from the source in the summer. Figure 4 shows the temperature ranges a~ two springs and Figure 5 shows the conductivity ranges at four springs. Some locations of the wetlands seem to have their own temperate variations as the open pond in Coyote Springs (as Site U, shown in Figure 4). The pH of the spring periphery was always higher than the spring source with as much as 2.0 pH units difference

(Figure 6 shows pH variations at two springs).

Temperature transects (measurements taken every two feet from the shore to the interior or from the shore to shore across the stream flow) indicated

that only minor fluctuations of temperature ( 2 to 3 C) occurred at a given location throughout the day where the current was flowing. In the peripheral

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spring source. Willows (Salix exigu~) were identified by Fautin (1946) but these no longer occur in the central valley wetlands, although there are stumps remaining in South-Central Spring #8 and possibly in a desiccated portion of North Tule #1.

Adjacent to the wetlands a zone consisting of numerous grasses occurs. In this zone is the marsh grass Distichlis spicata, White Pepper Plant (Lepidium), Juncus, Eleocharis, salt wort (Glaux maritima), Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium), fox-tail grass, buttercups (Ranunculus), Cinquefoil (Portilla anserina), aster, dandelions, and cutleaf water parsnip (Berula) .

Beyond the grass perimeter of the wetlands the greasewood {Sarcobatus vermiculatus) becomes the dominant vegetation. Tamarix and Phragmites also occur in limited areas. Other plants in the Greasewood faciation include Distichlis stricta, Distichlis spicata, Allenrolfea occidentalis Salicornia utahens, Suaeda fruiticosa (salt blits), Atriplex nuttallii, Atriplex falcata, Sporobolus, Bassia and rabbitbrush. The expression of the numerous plants depends upon the availability of water, the concentration

of salt and the alkaline nature of the soils.

A~'I~:·/\LS OF TI-'E GRE.~SEHCOO CDM~Ii\Ut-'ITY. Fautin (1946) 1 isted l<t:n0aroo Rats

{Dipodomys microps, Dipodomys ordii), Kangaroo mouse (Microdipodops megacephalus), grasshopper mouse (Onychonmys leucogaster), harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys megalotis), deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), ground squirrels (Citellus townsendi and Citellus leucurus), pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae), jack rabbit (Lepus californicus), cottontail (Sylivlagus nuttalii), badger (Taxidea taxus), coyote (Canis latrans), kit fox

(Vulpers macrolis) and antelope (Antilocarpa americana). Bats were seen at midday at South Tule Spring on June 13. Wildhorses seem to cross the valley between Confusion RAnge and the House Range and pass by Coyote Spring.

Table 2 lists the birds and the season in which they were seen. Mallards, Marsh Hawks, Horned Larks, Ravens, Long-billed Marsh Wrens, and possibly Savannah Sparrows can be found most of the year in Tule Valley. Cinnamon Teal, Coot, Mourning Dove, Burrowing Owl, Sage Thrasher, Yellow-headed

Blackbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Sage Sparrow, and

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regurgitated (by Coyote ?) and appeared in sequential state of undigested and living (stunned) to partially digested on September 25. One lizard was observed walking in the water- perhaps brought there by a predator. Predators may include Coyotes, Marsh Hawks, Prairie Falcons, and badgers.

GEOLOGICAL NOTES. For about 10,000 years Tule Valley was a bay of Lake Bonneville. This lake desiccated some 11,000 years ago. Once the bay was isolated from the main Lake Bonneville at Sand Pass, one can calculate that at an assumed rate of evaporation of 114 em (45 inches) per year, the 183m (600 foot) deep lake dried up in about 160 years. This of course

assumes that water from Snake Valley, the Sevier drainage and remnant Lake Bonneville were not sources of ground water recharge into Tule Valley at that time.

The present water in the central wetlands and springs of Tule Valley may arise from the Snake Valley, Wah Wah Valley and Pine Valley through flows in consolidated rocks (Gates and Kruer, 1981). The water arising at Fish

Springs to the north of Tule Valley have been dated with radiocarbon to be 9000 to 14000 years old (Gates and Kruer, 1981). The water arising in Tule Vally could likewise be this old. The water arising in the Tule Valley springs (South Tule, North Tule #1, North Tule #25, North Tule #3, and North Tule #5) may have flowed at much greater rates of discharge in the past as evident from the extensive eroded valleys that extend beyond the present wetlands.

There is an abundant amount of mollusc remnants in the spring sources and in the water current. Attempts to find living mollusc in the Tule Valley springs and wetlands have not been fruitful. Fish Springs to the north and numerous springs in Snake Valley do contain abundant numbers of mollusc and many diverse species.

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NORTH-CENTRAL COMPLEX consists of diverse wetlands pattern. The largest wetlands is Spring #12 with 48,000 m2 surface area and the smallest is about 500m2 (Springs #11, 24, and 13). Only one of these wetlands has a spring source (#12) with flowing water, but the temperature ranges

from 16 to 29 C depending on the time of .Year. Winter temperatures of the other wetlands were below 10 C. Conductivity varied from 1200 to 12,000 umhos/cm with two ponds (#11 and #98) being more saline with conductivity

of 39,000 to 94,000 umhos/cm (summer conductivity at least doubled the winter conductivity).

Two aquatic plants occur here and no other place in the valley wetlands. Cattails occur as a minor component in Spring #12 and was never seen with flowers. Round-stem bulrush was found in wetland #9A (con~uctivity 8600 to 16,000 umhos/cm). The lack of distribution of these two aquatic plants in other parts of the valley would be an interesting question to have

answered. Phragmites occurs around these wetlands among the greasewood where the land is dry. No fish were observed in the North-Central Complex although some might exist in Spring #12. No Western Spotted Frogs were

observed in these wetlands although the aquatic habitat for the frog seem to be similar to other aquatic habitat with Tule Valley. Spadefoot toads bred in the terminal end of Spring#12 wetlands. Conductivity of Spring #12 was similar to Coyote Springs most of the time at the seven different locations.

SALINE PONDS COMPLEX. Numerous saline ponds exist to the southwest of Coyote Springs and to the southwest of the North-Central Complex. The conductivity varies from 23,000 to greater than 66,500 umhos/cm in the early spring. During migration Pond #32 contains the greatest number of waterfowl and in the spring this pond is the only location utilized by

gulls in Tule Valley.

SOUTH-CENTRAL SPRING COMPLEX contains three ~prings surrounded by barren soil. Hence these springs are the most highly isolated from the aquatic viewpoint. The springs vary in surface area from about 100m2 (#6), 2100 m2 (#7) to 2900 m2 (#8). Spring# 6 and #7 have sources with temperatures

of 25 to 28 C, whereas the source of Spring #8 has a temperature of about

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Temperature variations during the day is illustrated in Figure 7 for

the current portion of the spring and in Figure 8 for the wetlands portion of the Spring #1. The pH of the springs varied from 7.4 (source) to 8.0 (wetlands) for Spring #1 and from 7.5 (source) to 7.7 (wetlands) in Spring #4. During the winter the pH of the wetlands in Spring #4 increased 0.5 units along the north edge but remained the same as the summer values in the two distal arms. While Spring #1 has long and narrow wetlands, Spring #24 seems to have as large a source but empties through a hole almost immediate adjacent to the source. Spring #1, #2, #4, and #25 all have water holes by which the water rapidly exits from the wetlands to subsurface flows.

Western Spotted Frogs breed in the distal end of Spring #1, the peripheral regions of the wetlands complex in Spring #2 (between the two sources), and in the two peripheral arms of Spring #4. Sunfish inhabit Spring #4 and both bass and frogs have been pumped from Spring #1 by water users. Spring #1 is used by the sheep industry in the winter time and in 1981-1982 season an oil drilling outfit utilized large volumes of water for their drilling mud. Because of this use, the Bureau of Land Management required the oil-drillers to construct a small dam on the stream portion of Spring #1 to prevent the water-pumpers from pumping of aquatic vertebrates. They had previously pumped up one bass and one frog. The water truck from the oil drilling outfit also enlarged the so~h end of this spring when it collapsed the bank of the spring with the truck. Collapsing of the spring and the dam construction has changed the vegetative nature of the bulrushes near the source of Spring #1.

At one time willows may have grown in Spring in the distal dried portion of this spring.

hippies once lived at Spring #1.

#1 as many remnants exist It has been mentioned that

Water analysis for Spring #4 is listed in Table 3. Except for NaCl, the magnesium, calcium, sulfate, and bicarbonate analysis indicate that

North Tule Springs may have the same analysis as Coyote Springs.

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of the depression. The temperature varied from 2 to 29 C and the

conduct ivity varied from 3150 to 5300 umhos/cm. The pH varied from 8.38 (June) to 7 . 58 (December). The spri ng is a source of water for wil dlife (rabbits) as a trail l eads to this source from the east side .

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Turner (1960) noted that transformation size was approximately 16 to 20 mm (SVL?) whereas Licht (1975) and Morris and Tanner (1969) noted that the

transformation size was 50 to 70 mm (total lenght, with the tail comprising 60 to 65% of the total length).

IMMATURE FROG OBSERVATIONS. Immature transformed frogs (approximately 30

mm) were observed in Tule Valley from the end of June to early October and not during the period of March through May. It is not known whether or not these frogs were derived from the current season or were one year old. If the immature frogs were one year old, they did not emerge in March when the breeding adults were observed. Growth rates for transformed frogs varied with locations. Turner (1960) found one 2 year old which grew 12 mm in 10 weeks. In Tule Valley, one female found in amplexis on

8 March 1981 (44mm) was recaptured on 12 June 1982 (53 mm) and thus grew 9 mm. Tule Valley growth rates may thus be similar to those reported by Licht (1975) for Vancouver and much faster than those reported by Turner (1960) for Yellowstone with its colder temperatures and shorter seasons.

ADULT BREEDING SIZES. Adult breeding sizes varies with the location (see Table 5). The Tule Valley breeding population (those found in amplexis) occurred at smaller sizes than either British Columbia or Yellowstone or Provo. This could be explained by the amounts of dissolved solids in the springs (Morris and Tanner, 1969) which might reduce the growth rate but not the maturity rate. A second hypothesis is the maturity is faster than at the other locations with many of those frogs which were found in amplexus were not yet sexually mature.

The Tule Valley females mean size was 55 mm (N, 177; standard deviation, 5.0) and the male mean size was 47 mm (N, 85; standard deviation, 3.7). On some occasions in summer mostly females were caught.

POPULATION NUMBERS. Eighty-eight frogs were marked by toe-clipping. In Spring #8, 31 frogs were marked and one frog was recovered the subsequent

year after examining 99 frogs during the 15 month period. By simple ratios.

Spring #8 may contain some 3000 frogs. In North Tule #1 and North Tule #2

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By June the temperatures varied from 15 to 18 C in early morning to 19

to 23 C in midafternoon in North Tule #1 and from 14 to 16 C in early morning to 20 to 22 C in midafternoon in South Central #8. By September the temperature were begining to cool with the variation in North Tule #1

ranging from 16 to 21 C and in South Central #8 ranging from 16 to 17 C.

Thus in Tule Valley the temperatures of the breeding habitat did not exceed the 26 C upper limit. However. because of the warm sources of water from the springs (26-30 C). opportunity to utilize the warm sources was available. Occasionally the frogs were actually seen in the warm waters after breeding and during the summer. Generally the frogs avoided these waters. The Tule Valley populations do not show any unusual behavior with respect to temperature. In summarizing the Western Spotted Frog habitat requirements, one might just conclude that the Western Spotted Frog breeds in shallow regions of water where the temperature fluctuations may vary from freezing to 26 C and disregard the cold water and the warmer pert of the cold water. Certainly in Tule Valley one might conclude that that the Western Spotted Frog breeds in the cold water portion of the warm water springs.

Since the springs contain over 900 mg/1 of dissolved solids, and since the springs are in the valley bottoms, this study was undertaken to study the conductivity of the springs and their wetlands to determine if the peripheral regions were concentrating the salts and ultimately destroy the populations of Western Spotted Frogs. In those springs in which the frogs were found, there was no concentrating effect of the dissolved solids. The summer values may increase. but the winter values return to 11 normal 11

, thus with no net gain. Because of the drainage of these wetlands, the concentrations

of dissolved solids may be somewhat constant. Coyote Springs complex did contain the highest conductivity of the inhabited springs .

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climatic conditions increase their May, June, July, and August precipitation, the Western Spotted Frog might then traverse the barren soils between the springs. Precipitation in the basin averages about 20.3 em (8 inches) annually (Stephens, 1977) . Much of this precipitation occurs during the winter months.

BIOGEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION IN THE BONNEVILLE BASIN. Figure 9 shows the locations of the Western Spotted Frog in the Bonneville Basin. Two

seemingly separate populations occur-- those in the western part of the Bonneville Basin (Tule Valley; Snake Valley; Deep Creek)

and those along the Wasatch Front (San Pitch River; Utah Lake including Mono Reservoir, Burston Pond and numerous locations near Provo; upper Provo River; upper Weber River; and lower Jordan River in Salt Lake County).

Two hypotheses could explain this distribution pattern. The first hypothesis

would state that the western populations came from the Humboldt and Snake Rivers and that the eastern populations came from the upper Snake River and the mountainous region in western Wyoming. This would have occurred while the Lake Bonneville was desiccating and while the glaciers were melting perhaps some 11,000 years ago.

The second hypothesis would state that the Western Spotted Frog inhabited the Bonneville Basin while Lake Bonneville was above the Provo stage. This hypothesis would then predict that the Western Spotted Frog could be found in such locations as the lower Sevier River (from which the San Pitch River is a tributary), Spanish Fork and Diamond Fork canyons,

lower Weber River, the Bear River drainage in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming, and in Grouse Creek and other tributaries of the Raft Mountains, and possibly is some of the tributaries arising in Idaho which empty into northern Great Salt Lake. If Western Spotted Frogs are not found in such locations, their population patterns might be explained then by the appearance of the Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens) which has been reported to eliminate the Western Spotted Frogs.

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Bonneville Basin-- Thousand Springs Creek. Turner (1962) could not find any frogs in the Thousand Springs Creek region northeast of Wells, Nevada. Areas adjacent to the Raft Mountains has not been examined.

Bonneville Basin-- Deep Springs Creek and Snake Valley. Turner (1962) noted Western Spotted Frogs along Deep Springs Creek in western Tooele County, Utah. Small populations of frogs were noted in two locations along Deep Springs Creek in 1982. These populations are stabile as long as urbanization and additional large water withdrawls from the drainage and altered water use does not occur. Matz collected frogs from S. Sid Foote Reservoir in 1968 (University of Utah collection) in the Snake Valley, Millard County. Examination of this reservoir as well as the adjacent Bishop Springs region revealed one egg mass in 1982 (Hovingh, unpublished) as well as numerous bullfrogs in Bishop Springs. Consequently this population is high~threatened at this time until the bullfrogs are removed. Examination of Snake Creek in Nevada showed no frogs present.

Bonneville Basin-- Sevier River Drainage. Tanner (1940) reported the Western Spotted Frog near Fairview on the San Pitch River. In 1960 Turner (letter to the Bureau of Land Management, 1981) found the frogs 2 miles south of Milburn on this same river. Matz (University of Utah collection) found the frogs 1 mile south of Fairview (6600 feet elevation) in 1968 and Morris and Tanner (1969) reported the frogs at 6140 feet elevation. Apparently this population exists from near Milburn to south of Fairview. Locations further south to the Sevier River and along the Sevier River have apparently not been examined. Nor have locations along Beaver Creek in Beaver and Millard Counties not been examined.

Bonneville Basin-- Utah Lake environs. Most of the locations in Utah center around numerous populations adjacent to Utah Lake west of the Wasatch Mountains. Turner (letter to the Bureau of Land Management, 1981) noted frogs present 2 mi west of Provo, at Provo Brick and Tile Company

and near Archery Range above Vivian Park. Brigham Young University has specimens collected in this region between 1960 and 1965. Morris and Tanner (1969) reported frogs in Mono Reservoir and Turner (Letter to the Bureau of Land Managemen~ heard of frogs in Burston Pond, both in Juab County, Utah. Both these latter locations may have connections with

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populations (via Parleys Creek). The current status of these populations is unknown. Much urbanization is occurring within this region.

Bonneville Basin-- Bear River drainage. Turner (letter to the Bureau of Land Management, 1981) mentioned that Jim MacMahon (Utah State University) reported that one of his students found the Western Spotted Frog on the north side of the Uinta Mountains. If this specimen was found in the upper Bear River drainage, and more populations are found along the Bear River drainage, this data would provide strong evidence of the distribution of the Western Spotted Frog during the prehistoric Lake Bonneville times.

Bonneville Basin-- Spanish Fork River. The locations of this frog up the Spanish Fork River system would be important. The populations in the upper San Pitch River (Sevier River drainage) may be connected to the populations in the Spanish Fork River system. This could account for the population in the San Pitch River region without conjuring up the hypothesis that the Western Spotted Frog was widely distributed during the Lake Bonneville times.

SUBSPECIATION IN THE WESTERN SPOTTED FROG. There is considerable discussion

in the 1 iterature of .Rana pretiosa luteiventris and Rana pretiosa pretiosa (Turner, 1962 and Morris and Tanner, 1969). The variety luteiventris has been characterized by lemmon yellow venter whereas the pretiosa has been characterized by the red or salmon colored venters. In Tule Valley the venters vary from red to yellow and from heavy pigmented spotted patterns to almost a lack of spotted patterns. Thus the subspeciation with the Western Spotted Frog may be environmentally induced as suggested by Morris and Tanner (1969). Turner (1962) performed detailed morphometric measurements on numerous populations of Western Spotted Frogs and at the best found some evidence that the populations from Summit County, Utah are morphologically distinct from those in Nevada and Idaho. To clarify the biogeographical isolation and speciation of the Western Spotted Frog it will be necessary to perform the same detailed biochemical examination on the Western Spotted Frog as has been performed on the Rana pipiens complex (Hillis, et al ., 1983).

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MANAGEMENT PLAN PROPOSAL FOR TULE VALLEY WETLANDS

In view of the fact that the Great Basin ecosystem and the basin and range

landscape is unique to North America, and in view of the fact that only

Death Valley is preserved to some extent for the hot desert portion of the

ecosystem, it seems that more of the Great Basin should be set aside for

scientific resource.

It is recommended that:

1) Tule Valley with its wide diversity of springs, wetlands and saline

ponds and with its western boundary consisting of low elevation

mountains and its eastern boundary consisting of moderate elevation

mountains, should be set aside and managed for its scientific

resources.

2) Tule Valley springs should be preserved as Research Natural Area,

fenced off from cattle grazing, and regulate burning if burning is prescribed.

3) Since there are not any National Parks or Momuments in the cold

desert of the Great Basin, Tule Valley should be studied for

inclusion into the National Park system. This inclusion would

incorporate both the Confusion and the House Range.

4) All exotic fish should be removed from the springs.

5) The valley should be closed off to the 1872 mining law for further

claims.

6) Research in the form of biological surveys, life history studies,

biological census, hydrological studies of flow rates, source of water, and climatic studies should be encouraged with funding.

7) All recreational off-road vehicle use should be prohibited. Recreational use of the valley should be limited to public education

of the basin and range topography.

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TABLE 1. TEMPERATURE AND CONDUCTIVITY OF SPRINGS IN TULE VALLEY

SPRING *

Coyote Springs Complex #15 (9)

North-Central Spring Complex #12 (7)

#13 (9)

South-Central Spring Complex #6 (9)

#7 ( 9)

North Tule Spring Complex #1 ( 10)

#2a ( 1 0)

#2b (10)

#3 ( 10) #4 ( 9)

#5 ( 9)

South Tule Spring Complex #17 (8)

#18 (8)

#19 (8)

South Spring Complex #21 ( 8)

TEMPERATURE (C) mean standard

deviation

28.2 0.8

22.7 5.2 15.4 6.2

25.0 3.5 25.8 0.9

27.5 1.1 27.0 1.2 25.1 2.1

25.1 3.2 26.6 1. 6 22.0 1.0

28.1 1.4 21.5 3. 5

w .8 5.0

31.2 1.1

CONDUCTIVITY (UMHOS/CM AT 25 C) mean

2730

2670 2130

1770 1870

1760 1790 1660 1680 1760 1760

1760 1530 1800

1940

standard deviation

180

748 354

197 189

113

109 187

191

137 173

123 414 140

201

* Number in parenthesis is the number of measurements taken at each spring. The measurements were taken throughout the year.

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TABLE 2. DISTRIBUTION OF BIRDS IN THE GREASEWDOD-WETLANOS ECOSYSTEM OF TULE VAllEY

Eared Grebe Pied-billed Grebe Great Blue Heron* Snowy Egret Black-crowned Night Heron American Bittern

Canada Goose Mallard* Pintail Green-winged Teal Cinnamon Tea I American Widgeon Redhead Canvass-back Ruddy Duck

Turkey Vulture* Sharp ~hinned Hawk* Coopers Hawk* Red-tailed Hawk* Swainsons Hawk* Rough-legged Hawk Golden Eagle* Marsh Hawk* Prairie Falcon* Sparrow Hawk*

Virginia Rail Sora* Coot Killdeer* Wilson's Snipe Western SandpiperS shorebirds gulls

Mourning Dove* Burrowing Owl* Nighthawk* White-throated Swift Flicker Arkansas Kingbird* Horned lark* Violet Green Swallow Barn Swallow*

Month of Year J F M A M J J A S 0 N 0

X X

X

X X

X

X X X

--------J----------X X

X X X

X X X

X

X

X X

X

X

X

X

X

X X

X X

X

X

X

X

X

Table 2 (continued)

Month of year J F ' M AM J J AS 0 N 0

Raven* long-billed Marsh Wren Rock Wren Mockingbird* Sage Thrasher* Mountain Bluebird Water Pipit loggerhead Shrike* shrike Starling

Yellow Warbler* Audubon's Warbler* Palm Warbler· Yellow-throat* long-tailed Chat* House Sparrow

Western Meadowlark Yellow-headed Blackbird* Red Wing* Brewer's Blackbird* Brown-headed Cowbird*

Goldfinch Green-tailed Towhee* lark Bunting* Savannah Sparrow* Vesper Sparrow* Black-throated Sparrow* Sage Sparrow* dunco Brewers Sparrow* Tree Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow* lincoln's Sparrow Song Sparrow*

*Identified by Fautin (1946).

X X

X

X

X

X X X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X X

X

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TABLE 3. Analysis of water in Coyote and North Tule #4 Springs. The data is adapted frorn information reported by Stephens (1977)

Calcium Magnesium Sodium Potassium

Bicarbonate Sulfate Chloride

Total dissolved solids (mg/1)

mMolar Coyote

1. 78

1. 56

15.22

0.95

4.36

3.44

12.68

1430

Specific conductance (umhos/cm) 2400

Concentrations North Tul e #4

1.80

1.69

8.74

0.51

4.07

2.73

6.48

992

1590

Page 19: WESTERN SPOTTED FROG (Rana pretiosa) DISTRIBUTION IN THE

TABLE 4.

LIFE HISTORY SUMMARY OF THE WESTERN SPOTTED FROG IN TULE VALLEY

month: Feb March April May· June July August Sept October week: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

Adults + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +~+ + + + + +

Mating Adults + + + + +

Fresh Eggs + + + + + +

Embryonic Eggs + + +

Hatchlings + + +

Tadpoles + + + + + +

Immatures (SVL ~30mm} + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Page 20: WESTERN SPOTTED FROG (Rana pretiosa) DISTRIBUTION IN THE

TABLE 5. Adult breeding sizes in different locations ~ (mm)

Female Male Maximum size Female Male

Yellowstone (Turner, 1960) 60 45 72 60

Vancouver (Licht, 1958) 62 45 80 64

Provo (Marris and Tanner, 1969) 62 47 79 64

Tul e Valley 44 - 66 42 - 59 66 59

TABLE 6. Recovery of Marked Animals

Total marked % Recovery of marked animals

Jackson Hale (Carpenter, 1954) 24 42

Jackson Hale (Carpenter, 1954 34 38

Yellowstone (Turner, 1960) 1433 27

South-Central #8 31 3

North Tule Complex 34 0

Page 21: WESTERN SPOTTED FROG (Rana pretiosa) DISTRIBUTION IN THE

R 16 W

+

Mountain

+

+

R

·....-)

_(' .. .. _..---, ,,,.,. t

I /. ,, I (

_;,r I I I

I

+

Pass T 14 S

Swasey Peak

ti I

T 18 S

~'\."-'' Playa 0 Spring ~ Hills A South Spring B South Tule C North Tule D South-Centrai E North-Central F Coyote Sprin~

Figure 1. Map of Central Tule Valley showing the locations of some of

the playas, the springs and wetlands and elevational features. The +

denotes townships and range and are 6 miles markers.

Page 22: WESTERN SPOTTED FROG (Rana pretiosa) DISTRIBUTION IN THE

-J LLI > LLI -J

o::t: LLI tl)

LLI > . 0 al o::t: V') 0:: LLI 1-LLI :::E:

2438 +

2134 -

1829 -

1524 -

>­LLI -J -J o::t: > LLI ~ o::t: z: tl)

LLI (.!J z: o::t: 0::

z: 0 H tl) :::::l LL. z: 0 u

>­LLI -J -J o::t: > LLI -J :::::l 1-

Tc

+ ~

LLI (.!J z: ~ LLI tl) :::::l 0 :I: _8000·

_7000

-6000

-5000

+ 19 18 17 I 16 15 14 13 12 11 +

Figure 2. Cross section of Tul e Valley at the southern boundary of T16S. The horizontal axis is the Range and each range is 6 miles wide. Arrows indicate location of Coyote and North Tule Springs.

-J LLI > LLI -J

o::t: LLI tl)

LLI > 0 al o::t: 1-LLI LLI LL.

Page 23: WESTERN SPOTTED FROG (Rana pretiosa) DISTRIBUTION IN THE

sa1 ine . Pond #30--:--------------o

North-Central Complex #23-----­#1 4----­#13----------#24·------#12-----

#n------...... #9e---------.:::::::-..... #10 #9A ·· - ------- -.... #9----,--------.:.::

North Tule Complex #5--

:i~ --;} :~~========--======== 7 ~ #4----------------~~--------

tJ

I miles Q_ _ _ _ _ ____ _::2

kilometers £..---- ,__ ___ 2..

Figure 3. Locations of the central springs, wetlands, and playas in

Tule Valley. The numbers are often refered to in the text.

,· "· - .

Page 24: WESTERN SPOTTED FROG (Rana pretiosa) DISTRIBUTION IN THE

20

10

u

-30

20

10

SPRING # 8

COYOTE SPRINGS

J F M A M J J A S 0 N D

TIME OF YEAR (MONTH)

Figure 4. Seasonal variation in temperature at two springs in Tule Valley.

The wetlands measurements represent the widest spread of temperature on each day at Spring# 8 (4 locations) and Coyote Springs (24 locations).

~ , the wetlands; 'llllllll main source; -Site U.

Page 25: WESTERN SPOTTED FROG (Rana pretiosa) DISTRIBUTION IN THE

.; '

North Tul e #1

2000

1000

3000 South-Centra 1 #8

2000 ~~ ~ 1000 -u

L()

N

+J 3000 South Tule #19 ttl .

E u -V! 0 2000 ..r:; E :::::1

>-r- 1000 ..... > ..... r-u =:J c z: 0 u

Coyote

3000 .

2000

100

J F M A M J J A S 0 N 0 TIME OF YEAR (Months)

Figure 5. Seasonal variation in conductivity at four springs in Tule Valley. The wetlands measurements represent the widest spread of conductivity

at South-Central Spring #8 (4 locations), South Tule #19 (13 locations), North Tule #1 (6 locations) and Coyote Springs (25 locations) on a given day. ~ the wetlands; 111111111' the spring source.

Page 26: WESTERN SPOTTED FROG (Rana pretiosa) DISTRIBUTION IN THE

~ .,

. I

,,

9.5

9.0

8.5

8.0

7.5

South Tule #19 "•••-,; • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • it

: Q • 0 : 0 • 0 : 0 • 0 : 0 • • 0 • 0 • : 0 • : 0 • . 0. . ~. • 0

~IIJI~• 0 ~ s... . .. #< Ill. ~~ ••• t:\ ,,,,,,,,,,

# ~· oO"' ~ •-'oo <ll 0

"'"'~··· •••

L..----+----t-------<1---t--- ~ -· t- t ·-·-·· ........ --

s A B G C H D I E J K L

Coyote

9.0 ~ • •• •• • • • • • •

8. 5 : : • • • • • • . ~ .

._/ . ;::: . .. . ~ . •• • ~ • .<

8 0 • • ·~ • 1i:.. . : :..._\~, •S • .•~nij~IIMIIIIIJ' . ~"" ... ,,~ ~ . ·. . .m. ·~ •• _:• ··~· •• • ;Fill~ .... .,

~· .. 7.5.f

S A B C D E F G H I J K

SITE LOCATION IN WETLANDS

Figure 6. pH values at numerous locations distal from the source (S).

••••• Summer (east arm of South Tul e} ;ooo Summer (West arm of South Tul e;

111111111 Winter (east arm of South Tule) ;••• Winter (West arm of South Tule.

Page 27: WESTERN SPOTTED FROG (Rana pretiosa) DISTRIBUTION IN THE

25 - .~ •• ·~ ~ ., ,~ 'f ..... .. ,.,. .. "" ., , • *\\WIIIt . .,.

20- ~ ~ ....

15- ~,,e+ ~,,,~

u

- 10-LLI a:

.~. =:I 1-

5- .• 4fll•• c:( a: . •• LLI c.. •• :E: LLI 1-

· I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 6 N 6 6

I I I I I N 6 6 N 6 6 N 6

December March June September

TIME OF DAY

Figure 7. Temperature variation in a transect at four locations across the stream flow. The horizontal axis represents the time of day (N is noon) for each of four times during the year. Each representation is the same location with the dots being in the middle of the stream and the squares

being two feet from shore. North Tule #1

Page 28: WESTERN SPOTTED FROG (Rana pretiosa) DISTRIBUTION IN THE

....... u

-LLI c::: => 1-c:( c::: LLI a.. ::::e.: LLI 1-

North Tul e #1

20 ~,,,,,,f

t.·······IP*i··· 1111111111111111f,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,.

15 Ill IIIII \\\\\\\ I

,,,,,,,,

10

.. f·~, 5

f~ • • .. ~--··· ···········I • •••••

0 II ·•• "' .. ,____.

- -·- -

South-Centra 1 #8

~'''''"""'"'""""'"' 20 ~,,,,'\ "''''" .,.,,,,'\ .,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,, ...

15 ,~~-~-···········1 10

5

0

8 10 1~ ( N) 2 4 6 8

TIME OF DAY

Figure 8. Temperature measurements taken during different times of the

day. Each point represents the mean temperature along a transect from the shore inward into the wetlands. Temperature was measured at each two foot interval and the transects were up to 80 feet. The solid vertical line is the standard deviation from the mean a long the transect. IIIUIIr June 12;

.. March 21; ••• September 25; ••••• December 8.

Page 29: WESTERN SPOTTED FROG (Rana pretiosa) DISTRIBUTION IN THE

l

I t

' I ,. /'

/~ ... · .... , ( ~ I

1'-)

i \r. ·' //

/

' : '

#2

'-:%: "'

r ., (

I

I

\

)

\ J

·· ···,

I I

.. , '-' I

#3

\ \

#4 SOURCE:

'.Area with fish _, ~-·""

I~ i ~

~ ·. Frog -b!feeding areas: '· ') . \

J I

"··

I

,~,fcur r~nt flow direction\ •' ' l<)~ ; Let ers designate che~stry

{' ( \

FIGURE 9. \ M~p o~ Coyote \ I :. ' \ -

Spd,ngs. I

\ \. /

l -.

I' ., \

......_

,r-.,

·"-...,----- · r

/

(

\

\.

samp~ i ng sites ' .

- , (

i I

NOP,7f1"

i

,..-· ..

' . -

.I

• •

~ .

!' . \.

!\. : ') . ' • • • • • • • • • I I

/

- ..... 1

Page 30: WESTERN SPOTTED FROG (Rana pretiosa) DISTRIBUTION IN THE

IDAHO

·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-· 0 100 200 300 MI.

! 0 100 300 ~KM. I

I . ! I

I I ... ·-·-·- · -·-· ~ I

M.\1'. Circles mark known localities; shaded are3 estimales tot3l rmnge. Type-locality is too imprecise to plot.

(after Turner and Dumas, 1972)

Pitch ver

~ HISTORIC AND ~- CURRENT

~HYPOTHETICAl

DISTRIBUTION OF RANA PRETIOSA

Figure 10. Distribution of the Western Spotted Frog (after Turner and Dumas, 1972) in the inset and the distribution of the Western Spotted Frog in the Bonneville Basin with proposed locations for future research.

The inset shows the proposed routes by which the Western Spotted Frog entered the Bonneville Basin.

Page 31: WESTERN SPOTTED FROG (Rana pretiosa) DISTRIBUTION IN THE

/

Turner, F.B. 1960. Population stryc;ture and dynamics of the w.estern spotted

frog, Rana p. pretiosa Baird & Girard, in Yellowstone Park, Wyoming.

Ecological Monographs 30: 251-278.

Turner, F~B. 1962. An analysi.s of geographic variation and distribution of Rana pretiosa. Am. Philosophical Society Year book, pages 325 .. 328.

Turner, F.B. and P~C. Dumas. 1972. Rana pretiosa. Catalogue of American

Amphibian and Reptiles. Pages 119.1 to 119.4.