KISSED too many frogs in your life? Well, here's your chance to count them instead. The Bermuda Zoological Society is asking the public to participate in a survey to count the number of whistling frogs people hear in their own backyards.The goal of "Project Sound-Off" is to collect population data on Bermuda's whistling frog (Eleutherodactylus johnstonei) - commonly referred to as the tree frog.Led by Dr. Jamie Bacon, research associate with the Bermuda Zoological Society and the principal investigator for the Bermuda Amphibian Project, the count-off will provide valuable baseline information about the numbers and distribution of the whistling frog that will help determine future changes in its population.

"Currently we don't have any population information about our whistling frogs. Through this survey, we hope to be able to gather enough data so that in five to ten years, we'll have some indication of whether the population is doing OK or declining," explained Dr. Bacon.

Participants are asked to go outside in their backyard after 9 p.m. and listen for the whistling calls and mark down how many they can hear.

"The calls sound like 'gleep gleep' about one to three seconds apart and have a bell-like quality. You can distinguish individual males if they are calling from slightly different places.

"They are territorial, so they should not be right next to each other," said Dr. Bacon.

Monitoring the amphibian population can provide vital clues to the health of the environment. "Amphibians are basically monitors of our environment.

"And, we've been getting a clear message from Bermuda's toads that our environmental health has declined.

"In addition, the contaminants that are affecting the toads could potentially pose a risk to human health," explained Dr. Bacon.

Three species of amphibians were introduced into Bermuda in the late 1800s: two species of whistling frog, one from the Lesser Antilles and one from Jamaica, and the cane toad (also known as the giant or marine toad) from Guyana.

Since then one of the whistling frog species, Eleutherodactylus gossei, which was abundant in the 1960s, appears to have become extinct, the last one having been seen in 1994.

According to Dr. Bacon, the toad population in Bermuda may be facing the same fate in the future due to factors such as pollution and habitat destruction.

"Our greatest concern (for this population) is the fact that the deformity rate in Bermuda's toads is approximately ten times what is considered a normal background deformity rate making us one of the most significant cases of amphibian deformities recorded worldwide.

Other problems we have observed include high mortality and impaired thyroid function in tadpoles and newly-metamorphosed toads, and tumors, suppressed immune function and abnormal ovaries and testes in adult toads," she said.

"Everything in nature is part of a balance, as we see the number of toads decline in some areas, we have seen the number of centipedes increase, which is one of their primary food sources.

"We will also see an increase of local garden pests. When you eliminate a predator, you increase the prey."

Project Sound-Off focuses on the remaining whistling frog species that seem to still have a stable population, although there is evidence that dangers could be mounting.

"We have found accumulation of metals in their tissues and evidence of immune system suppression so these animals are probably stressed," Dr. Bacon added.

One reason for the continued stability of this group could be due to the fact that their eggs aren't as exposed to exhaust, water pollution and other contaminants because tree frogs lay their eggs in flower pots, under vegetation and in wall crevices, which are more protected, as opposed to toads who lay their eggs in water in ponds and marshy areas.

Even though Bermuda nights are still filled with the sounds of the tree frogs, Dr. Bacon stresses that it is still important to keep a watchful eye on the current population.

"We'd like to obtain at least 100 survey forms back from the public from different areas around the island," she said.

"It's important for people to know what is going on in their own backyards and to participate in monitoring the health of their environment."

People interested in participating in the study are asked to fill out one survey counting the number of calling frogs in their yards in the spring and another during the last two weeks in August, preferably when it is damp or raining out.

Survey forms can be downloaded via the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo website, http://www.bamz.org and clicking the "Project Sound-Off" icon.