Life-histories of the Frogs of Okefinokee Swamp, Georgia

Book excerpt: "Whether you spell it as Okefinokee like Wright (1931) or Okefenokee like The New Georgia Guide (1996), the big swamp nestled in the southeastern corner of Georgia and northern edge of Florida with its distinctive flora, fauna, and natural history is the largest swamp in North America."--from the Foreword The Okefenokee Swamp, named a National Wildlife Refuge by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1937, is the country's largest intact wetland. Its continued protection is essential to native amphibian populations. Albert Hazen Wright's survey of the life histories of the frogs found in the Okefenokee at the beginning of the twentieth century is a classic of natural history, long out of print. Wright's "Acknowledgments to Residents" provide a fascinating portrait of the human context of his research. Wright goes on to outline the status of explorations of the region and offers an extensive general discussion of the Okefenokee and its frogs, including habitats, range, coloration, measurements, vocalization, mating, structural differences, ovulation, life periods, tadpoles, growth rates, food, and predators. The book's species accounts give clear and extensive details about the species found in Georgia, still applicable today to frogs throughout the East Coast of the United States. A new foreword by J. Whitfield Gibbons highlights appreciation for Wright's work in the context of amphibian studies today and puts into perspective the value of the Okefenokee Swamp as a nature preserve and as a refuge for native amphibian fauna now in serious decline. It updates common and scientific names and notes the current status of all taxa. Gibbons provides a history of the Cornell Expeditions and mentions the importance and later influence of some of the students who took part.