Editing Spring peeper (section)

== Reproduction and lifecycle ==
[[File:Spring Peeper Eggs.jpg|left|thumb|Spring peeper (''Pseudacris crucifer'') eggs in water.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}]]

=== Brood size ===
Spring peepers breed in southern areas from October to March, depending on the local temperature. In northern areas, they breed between March and June, when the warm rains start. ''P. crucifer'' typically lays around 900 eggs per clutch, but up to 1000 are possible. Females will lay eggs singularly or in groups of two or three.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Baud |first1=Donald R. |last2=Beck |first2=Melvin L. |date=2005 |title=Interactive Effects of UV-B and Copper on Spring Peeper Tadpoles (Pseudacris Crucifer) |url=https://doi.org/10.1656/1528-7092(2005)004[0015:IEOUAC]2.0.CO;2 |journal=Southeastern Naturalist (Steuben, Me.) |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=15–22 |doi=10.1656/1528-7092(2005)004[0015:IEOUAC]2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=83788323 |via=BioOne|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Egg clusters are hidden under vegetation or debris at the water base.<ref name="www.biokids.umich.edu">{{Cite web |title=BioKIDS – Kids' Inquiry of Diverse Species, ''Pseudacris crucifer'', Spring Peeper: INFORMATION |url=http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Pseudacris_crucifer/ |access-date=2019-03-20 |website=www.biokids.umich.edu}} In very cold weather, they hibernate under logs and loose bark. Spring peepers often call day and night as long as the temperature is above freezing, but they are mostly heard and usually not seen because they hide in dense plants. They are especially easy to hear due to their extremely loud [[mating call]] which gives them the name "peeper", but it is often hard to pinpoint the source of the sound, especially when many are peeping at once. The peepers generally breed close to dusk and throughout the evening and early morning hours. Their calls can be heard from as far as one to two and a half miles, depending on their numbers.{{cite magazine |date=11 November 2010 |title=Spring Peeper |magazine=National Geographic |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/s/spring-peeper/ |language=en}}</ref>

=== Lifespan ===
[[File:Tadpole 2015-04-16-12.04.26 ZS PMax (16571152244) (2).jpg|thumb|Tadpole 2015-04-16-12.04.26 ZS PMax (16571152244) (2)]]
After they hatch, they remain tadpoles for two to three months before transforming into frogs and are ready to leave the water.<ref name="www.biokids.umich.edu" /> Following breeding in the spring, the spring peepers' larval stage lasts two to three months.<ref name="Skelly 1995 203–207"/> The spring peeper can live an estimated three years in the wild.<ref>{{cite web |date=11 November 2010 |title=Spring Peeper National Geographic |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/s/spring-peeper/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170507163019/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/s/spring-peeper/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 7, 2017 |website=Animals |language=en}}</ref>

By looking at the different shading/coloring of concentric rings in the skeletons of spring peepers, age can be determined regarding the way of bone growth. Darker lines coincide with periods of higher survival rates during winter months. Lighter lines and areas represent periods of bone deposition and rapid growth.<ref name="Lykens-1987" /> These lines allow it to be determined that spring peepers begin to breed, going into their third spring when they are two years old. Male spring peepers have reached sexual maturity at this time yet are smaller in size than females. Between spring peepers' second and third years, their body size increases significantly, then subsequently plateaus. During the first season of breeding, the two-year-old males produce higher frequency calls than males in their third and fourth seasons do <ref name="Lykens-1987">{{Cite journal |last1=Lykens |first1=David V. |last2=Forester |first2=Don C. |date=1987 |title=Age Structure in the Spring Peeper: Do Males Advertise Longevity? |journal=Herpetologica |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=216–223 |jstor=3892054 }}</ref>[[File: Spring Peeper tadpoles.jpg|thumb|right|''P. c. crucifer'' tadpoles, about 4–5 wk old and 24 hours away from complete [[metamorphosis]].]]