Planning a Frog Collecting Expedition

This spring and summer, I'll be travelling widely around North America in search of northern leopard frogs like the one shown above. My dissertation research is on the genetics of this species, so I need to collect genetic tissue from 24 frogs at each of 23 populations.

As I travel, looking for frogs, I'll mostly be camping. I did this last year in a more limited area, and it seemed to work well. I can usually find a small plot of land to put a tent on overnight.

Camping is great, but I'm travelling alone and I don't have a lot of money, so I'll be looking forward to every chance to visit with friends or to crash on a couch or take a shower. So, if you're reading this blog and you know me, please take a look at the map below. Blue dots are places I plan on sampling this year (except for the dots in Arizona, Washington, and South Dakota, where I already have samples or I think I can get them from other people). I'll generally be travelling across the southern part of the range (roughly along the red line), then up into eastern Canada, and then back west across Canada. If you live near any of these dots and would like to hang out for a few hours, provide a place to crash, and/or help me catch some frogs (it's not easy, but it's fun!), then send me an email and let me know. I'll be looking forward to seeing you soon!