Can Britain's Toads Survive from Traffic and Population Collapse?
It is a Friday evening at half past seven, but instead of going out or watching a film, I've taken a train to a market town in the countryside to join volunteers from a toad patrol. These committed people sacrifice their evenings to safeguard the local toad population.
An Alarming Decline in Population
The Bufo bufo is becoming increasingly uncommon. A recent research conducted by an wildlife conservation group revealed that the UK toad population have dropped by half since the mid-1980s. Seeing a species that has been a stalwart of the British countryside in decline is labeled "concerning" by experts. Toads "don't require very particular environments" and "ought to live successfully in the majority of habitats in Britain," so if even they are not managing to survive, "it indicates that things are not as they should be."
The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985
The Danger from Traffic
Though the research didn't cover the causes for the drop, cars certainly plays a part. Calculations suggest that 20 tons of toads are killed on British roads every year – in other words, hundreds of thousands. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be content to mate "with just a small container," toads prefer big bodies of water. Their capacity to stay out of water for more time than frogs allows they can travel further to reach them – sometimes hundreds of metres. They usually follow their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for mature amphibians to return to their natal pond to mate.
Migration Habits
Fittingly, the initial amphibians start their journey for a partner around Valentine's day, but some move as late as spring, until it gets night and moving after sunset. During that period, toads begin migrating from where they have been hibernating "all pretty much at the same time."
A local helper, who was raised in the area and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a child, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their route crosses a road, they could be killed by traffic, and that mating period would never happen – preventing a new generation of toads from being produced.
Rescue Groups Throughout the United Kingdom
Finding many of dead toads on nearby streets "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to the formation of toad patrols throughout the UK – 274 groups are officially listed with a national initiative. These teams pick up toads and transport them over streets in buckets, as well as recording the quantity of toads they encounter and advocating for other protection measures, such as blocked roads and amphibian passages.
Volunteers usually work during the migration season, when toad crossings are frequent. However, this means they can miss groups of young toads, which, having existed as eggs and then tadpoles, leave their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their size – just one or two centimetres wide – "they are destroyed by vehicles." And as being hit "basically turns them into mush," it's more difficult to get data on them. At least when adult toads are killed, their remains can be counted.
Year-Round Efforts
Unlike many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of functioning, go out throughout the year – not nightly, but when weather are warm and wet, or if a member has posted about a toad sighting in their group chat. When I ask to join them on patrol, they concede it is "not ideal conditions" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a dry day – but a few of the volunteers willingly accept to patrol their area with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can locate any toads tonight, that pair will find one," says the patrol manager, indicating her teenage child and the longtime volunteer. After for 120 minutes without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled a wire barrier to inspect beneath some logs.
Family Involvement
The family duo became part of the patrol a year and a half ago. The teenager loves all things wildlife and has an goal to become a conservationist, so his mother started to look for things they could do together to help local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur explains – so when the group was seeking a new manager recently, she volunteered for the role.
The youth, too, has been instrumental in the organization. A clip he created, urging the municipal authority to block a road through a nature reserve during migration season, swung the decision the team's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the council approved an "restricted access" restriction between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to April. Most drivers respected and avoided the road.
Other Wildlife and Challenges
A few vehicles go by when I'm out on patrol and we discover some casualties as a consequence – no toads, but several crushed salamanders. We see one living newt as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a daddy longlegs, which dances in his palms. Yet despite the group's hardest attempts to let me see a toad, the native community has clearly settled down for the colder months. It seems that I couldn't have found any more luck elsewhere in the country – all the rescue teams I contact explain that it's very difficult at this time of year.
This team anticipates assisting around ten thousand mature toads over the street
One email I receive from another volunteer, who has kindly taken the trouble to look for toads in a famous site, thought to be the biggest tracked toad group in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "None found." However, in late winter, he informs me, the team expects to help around 10,000 mature amphibians over the street.
Impact and Challenges
How much of a difference can these organizations actually make? "The fact that volunteers are doing this consistently on cold, damp and unpleasant evenings is quite extraordinary," says an researcher. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while toad patrols are able to slow the decline, they can't stop it completely – not least because traffic is just one danger.
Additional Threats
The global warming has meant longer periods of drought, which cause the poor environment for some of the creatures that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while higher water temperatures have led to an increase of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also lead toads to wake up from their dormancy more often, disrupting the resource preservation vital to their life cycle. Habitat destruction – particularly the disappearance of large ponds – is an additional threat.
Researchers are "always a bit worried about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on biodiversity," but "There is a big value in just their presence." But toads do have an important role in the ecosystem, consuming almost any invertebrates or small animals they can swallow and in turn sustaining a variety of birds and mammals, such as hedgehogs and otters. Enhancing conditions for toads – ie creating more ponds, conserving woodland and installing amphibian passages – "benefits for a wide range of additional wildlife."
Cultural Importance
Another reason to try to keep toads around is their "important cultural value," adds an specialist. Legends and tales around toads date back {centuries|hundred
