{"id":870,"date":"2015-08-08T15:40:33","date_gmt":"2015-08-08T20:40:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/?p=870"},"modified":"2016-10-11T15:42:44","modified_gmt":"2016-10-11T20:42:44","slug":"behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/news\/behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs\/","title":{"rendered":"Behavioral Ecology of Color Change in Gray Treefrogs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gerlinde H\u00f6bel<\/h3>\n

Department of Biological Sciences, UW-Milwaukee, hoebel@uwm.edu<\/p>\n

Gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor<\/em>) have amazing color change ability, and can range from dark brown to bright green. Yet, nothing is known about the distribution of body color in nature, or whether frogs choose their resting perches based on their body color, or adjust body color as a function of ambient color or temperature. Here, we examine the behavioral ecology of color change in gray treefrogs. Color change can function to hide the individual from predators (crypsis), or to make the individual obvious for conspecifics (conspicuousness). In addition, in ectotherms (cold blooded animals), body color may help with thermoregulation (darker colors heat up better, brighter colors increase reflection and stay cooler). We took pictures and temperature measurements from (i) calling males at the pond at night, and (ii) male and female frogs resting during the day. The daytime pictures were taken from frogs released in a large enclosure fitted with branches and foliage (treefrogs spend the day resting in the tree canopy, making it impossible to sample frog body color in nature). We will analyze color and contrast measures from the frogs to test whether temperature or background color is a better predictor of frog body color<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor<\/em>) have amazing color change ability, and can range from dark brown to bright green. Yet, nothing is known about the distribution of body color in nature, or whether frogs choose their resting perches based on their body color, or adjust body color as a function of ambient color or temperature. Here, we examine the behavioral ecology of color change in gray treefrogs. Color change can function to hide the individual from predators (crypsis), or to make the individual obvious for conspecifics (conspicuousness). In addition, in ectotherms (cold blooded animals), body color may help with thermoregulation (darker colors heat up better, brighter colors increase reflection and stay cooler).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":778,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[29,90],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-research"],"yoast_head":"\nField Station<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/news\/behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Behavioral Ecology of Color Change in Gray Treefrogs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor) have amazing color change ability, and can range from dark brown to bright green. Yet, nothing is known about the distribution of body color in nature, or whether frogs choose their resting perches based on their body color, or adjust body color as a function of ambient color or temperature. Here, we examine the behavioral ecology of color change in gray treefrogs. Color change can function to hide the individual from predators (crypsis), or to make the individual obvious for conspecifics (conspicuousness). In addition, in ectotherms (cold blooded animals), body color may help with thermoregulation (darker colors heat up better, brighter colors increase reflection and stay cooler).\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/news\/behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Field Station\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-08-08T20:40:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-10-11T20:42:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/news\\\/behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/news\\\/behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Behavioral Ecology of Color Change in Gray Treefrogs\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-08-08T20:40:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-10-11T20:42:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/news\\\/behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":216,\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Research\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/news\\\/behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/news\\\/behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs\\\/\",\"name\":\"Behavioral Ecology of Color Change in Gray Treefrogs - Field Station\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-08-08T20:40:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-10-11T20:42:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/news\\\/behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/news\\\/behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/news\\\/behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/category\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Behavioral Ecology of Color Change in Gray Treefrogs\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/\",\"name\":\"Field Station\",\"description\":\"UW-Milwaukee\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Field Station","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/news\/behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Behavioral Ecology of Color Change in Gray Treefrogs","og_description":"Gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor) have amazing color change ability, and can range from dark brown to bright green. Yet, nothing is known about the distribution of body color in nature, or whether frogs choose their resting perches based on their body color, or adjust body color as a function of ambient color or temperature. Here, we examine the behavioral ecology of color change in gray treefrogs. Color change can function to hide the individual from predators (crypsis), or to make the individual obvious for conspecifics (conspicuousness). In addition, in ectotherms (cold blooded animals), body color may help with thermoregulation (darker colors heat up better, brighter colors increase reflection and stay cooler).","og_url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/news\/behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs\/","og_site_name":"Field Station","article_published_time":"2015-08-08T20:40:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-10-11T20:42:44+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/news\/behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/news\/behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Behavioral Ecology of Color Change in Gray Treefrogs","datePublished":"2015-08-08T20:40:33+00:00","dateModified":"2016-10-11T20:42:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/news\/behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs\/"},"wordCount":216,"articleSection":["News","Research"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/news\/behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs\/","url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/news\/behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs\/","name":"Behavioral Ecology of Color Change in Gray Treefrogs - Field Station","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-08-08T20:40:33+00:00","dateModified":"2016-10-11T20:42:44+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/news\/behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/news\/behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/news\/behavioral-ecology-of-color-change-in-gray-treefrogs\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/category\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Behavioral Ecology of Color Change in Gray Treefrogs"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/","name":"Field Station","description":"UW-Milwaukee","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":""}]}},"acf":[],"meta_fields":{"_edit_lock":["1476218436:28"],"_edit_last":["28"],"_uwm_wg_content_review_log":["a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:11:\"reviewer_id\";i:0;s:6:\"status\";s:5:\"reset\";s:10:\"entry_date\";s:19:\"2026-03-01 02:10:48\";s:16:\"priority_content\";s:0:\"\";s:4:\"note\";s:43:\"Content review reset at start of new cycle.\";}}"]},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-26 11:57:20","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/778"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=870"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2192,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870\/revisions\/2192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}