Cricket frogs maintain body hydration and temperature near levels allowing maximum jump performance.

One goal of this study was to determine the combination of hydration and temperature in the northern cricket frog Acris crepitans that allowed maximum jump distance in the laboratory. Second, environmental variables in the field were measured to determine the best predictor(s) of mean body temperature and hydration and to determine whether frogs maintain levels of temperature and hydration yielding maximum jump distance. Laboratory data revealed that hydration and the hydration-temperature interaction significantly affected jump performance. Frogs at 95% and 85% hydration jumped significantly better than frogs at 75% hydration, but frogs at 95% hydration at 15 degrees C jumped significantly poorer than those at 95% hydration at 30 degrees C. Animals at 85% hydration at 30 degrees C and 85% hydration at 15 degrees C jumped just as well as those at 95% hydration at 30 degrees C. Mean body temperature of 55 frogs in the field was 28.0 degrees C, and hydration was 97.4%. Sky condition (sunny, cloudy, or partly cloudy) was the best predictor of frog hydration, and air temperature was the best predictor of frog body temperature. Cricket frogs in the field maintain a hydration and temperature near those found to yield maximum jump distances in laboratory trials. This may be a behavioral adaptation to allow maximum jump distance during predator avoidance.