Wood Frog Life History 31 



egg development, egg mortality, and egg predators. Clutch size was 

 determined by counting the number of eggs in six egg masses and by 

 volumetric displacement of four additional egg masses. Estimates from 

 volumetric displacement were obtained by placing an entire egg mass in 

 a 1-1 graduated cylinder containing 200 ml of water. The volume of 

 water displaced by each egg mass was recorded and then multiplied by a 

 standard displacement volume, obtained previously for 10 eggs, to cal- 

 culate the number of eggs present in the clutch. Larval development in 

 the field was monitored to obtain growth and mortality data. A series of 

 10 or more tadpoles was collected at one pond during 1979 at varying 

 intervals until no more tadpoles could be found. All were immediately 

 preserved in 10% formalin, then measured and staged in the manner 

 recommended by Gosner (1960). Rana sphenocephala tadpoles were 

 also collected in the same ponds at the same times so that developmen- 

 tal rates between the two species could be compared. 



RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 

 Habitat and Range in Alabama 



Wood frogs were collected in five counties in east central Alabama 

 (Fig. 1). Except those on or near Mt. Cheaha, Cleburne County, all 

 collecting localities were near mesic semideciduous forests along the 

 flood plains of large streams. Several frogs collected on Mt. Cheaha 

 were considerable distances from running water, but were never far 

 from mesic sites. 



All frogs were collected from localities in the Blue Ridge and 

 Piedmont Plateau physiographic provinces. The floristic and geologic 

 components of these areas have previously been described (Harper 1943, 

 Hodgkins 1965, Johnson and Sellman 1975). The Blue Ridge, as used 

 here, is synonymous with the Blue Ridge herpetofaunal province de- 

 scribed by Mount (1975) and the Mountain Forest Habitat Region 

 defined by Hodgkins (1965) and Johnson and Sellman (1975). From a 

 geological standpoint, the terms "Blue Ridge" or "Mountain" may be 

 inappropriate, for the general consensus among geologists is that the 

 Blue Ridge province terminates in northern Georgia. However, the 

 vegetative distribution patterns and faunal components differ suffi- 

 ciently from the Ridge and Valley province and Piedmont to warrant 

 recognition of the Blue Ridge as a separate entity in Alabama (Johnson 

 and Sellman 1975, Mount 1975). All Piedmont localities for breeding 

 ponds and adult frogs were in the northern subdivision known as the 

 Ashland Plateau. To the north, this part of the Piedmont makes contact 

 with the Blue Ridge, but the transition is gradual with a continuous 

 gradation of the Piedmont into the uplands. The southern subdivision 



