Editing Northern leopard frog (section)

==Ecology and behavior==
[[File:Northern Leopard Frog Ontario 1.JPG|thumb|left|Near [[Welland Canal]], [[Ontario]]]]
Northern leopard frogs have a wide range of habitats. They are found in permanent ponds, swamps, marshes, and slow-moving streams throughout forest, open, and urban areas.<ref name="NLF Info">[http://www.fws.gov/nevada/nv_species/nleopard_frog.html Northern Leopard Frog (''Lithobates pipiens'')], Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office. Retrieved 2015-03-28.</ref> They normally inhabit water bodies with abundant aquatic vegetation. In the summer, they often abandon ponds and move to grassy areas and lawns. They are well adapted to cold and can be found above {{convert|3000|m|ft|abbr=on}} [[above mean sea level]]. Males make a short, snore-like call from water during spring and summer. The northern leopard frog breeds in the spring (March–June). Up to 6500 eggs are laid in water, and tadpoles complete development within the breeding pond. Tadpoles are light brown with black spots, and development takes 70–110 days, depending on conditions. Metamorph frogs are {{convert|2|-|3|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and resemble the adult.

This species was once quite common through parts of western Canada and the United States until declines started occurring during the 1970s. Although the definitive cause of this decline is unknown, habitat loss and fragmentation, environmental contaminants, introduced fish, drought, and disease have been proposed as mechanisms of decline and are likely preventing species' recovery in many areas.<ref name="NLF Details"/> Many populations of northern leopard frogs have not yet recovered from these declines.

Northern leopard frogs are preyed upon by many different animals, such as [[snake]]s, [[raccoon]]s, other [[frog]]s, and even [[human]]s. They do not produce distasteful skin secretions and rely on speed to evade predation.

They eat a wide variety of animals, including crickets, flies, worms, and smaller frogs. Using their large mouths, they can even swallow birds and garter snakes. In one case, a [[bat]] was recorded as prey of this frog.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Mikula | first1 = P | year = 2015 | title = Fish and amphibians as bat predators | journal = European Journal of Ecology | volume = 1 | issue = 1| pages = 71–80 | doi = 10.1515/eje-2015-0010 | doi-access = free }}</ref> This species is similar to the [[pickerel frog]] (''Lithobates palustris'') and the [[southern leopard frog]] (''Lithobates sphenocephalus'').