The Treefrogs of Kiawah Island, South Carolina

One doesn’t have to travel to Puerto Rica to enjoy the songs of nature by tiny little treefrogs known there as "Coqui", aptly named for the one word of the song that they sing at the top of their lungs, well gills to begin with as a young "tad", in the middle of the night!

If you find yourself on Kiawah Island, South Carolina following a warm (and humid!) rainy evening, you will hear the cacophony of "evening vespers" brought to you by none other than any of the 11 species of treefrogs that inhabit this resort island. Throw in thousands of other toads and it is an audio spectacle, surround sound as it were, to be sure!

The treefrogs are a particularly beautiful specimen, called Hylids, for their evolution to the lofty position of "tree frog". An extra length of cartilage and an oversized self-adhesive sticky pad on the tip of each little toe has adapted these little social climbers to their position in the trees. Branch managers, if you will!. It’s the toe pads and rounded vocal sac at the bottom of their throat that separates these treefrogs from their other, more lowly relatives.

The one common denominator amongst the 11 species are their vivid "flash" colors on their back legs. The brilliant colors are thought to attract the eye of a predator when the frog jumps. But, upon landing on the ground the frog folds it’s hind legs under and the predator loses sight of its prey.

Our musical amphibians have been suffering a decline in population since the 1980's due in part to habitat loss, disease and/or climate change. According to a 2004 issue of "Science", if these declines are not understood and reversed, hundreds of amphibian species will go into extinction.

Public awareness is critical to the survival of these little whimsical wonders. Preservation of wetlands and the natural balance that they bring to the ecosystem is paramount. To lose this "Music of The Night" forever would be a tragedy for our future generations to come. "The Sounds of Silence", the alternative.