The Importance of Frogs - May 4th, 2015

Frogs have been designated as Keystone species because of their central roles as both predators and prey. Mr.Hoeper will introduce us to the fascinating aspects of the natural life cycle of the frogs and toads of the Ozarks.

Jeffrey Hoeper was once a Professor of English at Arkansas State University where he taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses, wrote scholarly articles, and published a number of successful college textbooks. Then in 2002 Jeff and his wife Sue adopted a Snowshoe Siamese kitten from the local Humane Society. Life changed. Fergus the feline has gradually and slyly imposed an entire new set of constraints on Jeff’s life, encouraging his retirement from teaching but grudgingly allowing him time to ride about 4,000 miles a year on his road bike and time to the study the natural world, particularly those parts of it related to feline felicity. Frogs, being a natural part of a cat’s diet, have been particularly encouraged as a field of study.