Genome sequencing of the Boreal Chorus Frog (Pseudacris maculata)
Spring peepers and the two trilling chorus frog species that occur in Canada are harbingers of spring as they begin to breed when ice is still on the wetlands where they occur. Amphibians generally are the most imperiled terrestrial vertebrate taxa with about 1/3 of species threatened with extinction in the near term. Including among these are populations of the trilling chorus frogs of Quebec and Eastern Ontario (COSEWIC. 2008). Because they often breed in large numbers, chorus frogs are important components of ecosystems serving as prey for a host of other species (predacious aquatic invertebrates, snakes, other frogs, many aquatic birds, mammals), in control of pests (mosquitos, flies, moths, beetles), and in nutrient cycling.