Jan. 6, 2014 — As winter approaches, many of us hunker down and virtually "hibernate" for the season. Classic hibernation in the wild conjures images of furry bears, but other animals are not so lucky to have immense fat stores or fur to protect them from the elements. Frogs that live at northern latitudes have neither of these, but must find ways to survive the harsh winter season. Their solution? Freezing…but not to death.
Wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) freeze upwards of 60% of their bodies during the winter months. "For all intents and purposes, they are dead," said Don Larson, a Ph.D. student at Fairbanks who is interested in how frogs in some of the harshest conditions of Alaska alter their physiology to survive the long and extremely cold winters. Unlike previous studies, Larson used standard lab-based experiments, but also included measurements to track a population in the wild.
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