Amphibian Habitat Management Handbook
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Trunk Road Estate Biodiversity Action Plan
Home Welsh Assembly Government Trunk Road Estate Biodiversity Action Plan 2004-2014 If you have any comments on this document, its contents, or its links to other sites, please send them by post to: Environmental Science Advisor, Transport Directorate, Welsh Assembly Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NQ or by email to [email protected] The same contact point can be used to report sightings of wildlife relating to the Trunk Road and Motorway network. Prepared by on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government ISBN 0 7504 3243 8 JANUARY 2004 ©Crown copyright 2004 Home Contents Foreword by Minister for Economic Development and Transport 4 Executive Summary 5 How to use this document 8 Introduction 9 Background to biodiversity in the UK 10 Background to biodiversity in Wales 12 The Trunk Road Estate 13 Existing guidance and advice 16 TREBAP development 19 Delivery 23 Links to other organisations 26 The Plans 27 Glossary 129 Bibliography and useful references 134 Other references 138 Acknowledgements 139 3 Contents Foreword FOREWORD BY THE MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSPORT The publication of this Action Plan is both a recognition of the way the Assembly Government has been taking forward biodiversity and an opportunity for the Transport Directorate to continue to contribute to the wealth of biodiversity that occurs in Wales. Getting the right balance between the needs of our society for road-based transport, and the effects of the Assembly’s road network on our wildlife is a complex and often controversial issue. The Plan itself is designed to both challenge and inspire those who work with the Directorate on the National Assembly’s road network – and, as importantly, to challenge those of us who use the network to think more about the wildlife there. -
Phalangeal Bone Anomalies in the European Common Toad Bufo Bufo from Polluted Environments
Environ Sci Pollut Res DOI 10.1007/s11356-016-7297-6 RESEARCH ARTICLE Phalangeal bone anomalies in the European common toad Bufo bufo from polluted environments Mikołaj Kaczmarski1 & Krzysztof Kolenda 2 & Beata Rozenblut-Kościsty2 & Wioletta Sośnicka 2 Received: 7 March 2016 /Accepted: 20 July 2016 # The Author(s) 2016. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Abstract Every spring, many of amphibians are killed by ximately 20 % from the rural and semi-urban sites. In partic- motor vehicles on roads. These road-killed animals can be ular, we found hypertrophic bone cells, misaligned intercellu- used as valuable material for non-invasive studies showing lar substance, and irregular outer edges of bones. We suggest the effect of environmental pollution on amphibian popula- that these malformations are caused by different pollution, e.g. tions. The aims of our research were to check whether the with heavy metals. phalanges of road-killed toads may be useful as material for histological analysis, and whether various degrees of human Keywords Amphibians . Phalangeal bone . Poland . impact influence the level in bone abnormalities in the com- Pollution . Roadkilling . Skeletochronology . Urban area mon toad. We also examined whether the sex and age struc- ture of toads can differ significantly depending in the different sites. We chose three toad breeding sites where road-killed Introduction individuals had been observed: near the centre of a city, the outskirts of a city, and a rural site. We collected dead individ- Current knowledge widely indicates a direct relationship be- uals during spring migration in 2013. The sex of each individ- tween anthropogenic pressures and the deteriorating environ- ual was determined and the toes were used to determine age mental state and/or global extinction of amphibian popula- using the skeletochronology method. -
Toads Have Warts... and That's Good! | Nature Detectives | Summer 2021
Summer 2021 TOADS HAVE WARTS…AND THAT’S GOOD! Warts on your skin are not good. Warts can occur when a virus sneaks into human skin through a cut. A medicine gets rid of the virus and then it’s good-bye ugly wart. Toad warts look slightly like human warts, but toad warts and people warts are not one bit the same. Toad warts are natural bumps on a toad’s back. Toads have larger lumps behind their eyes. The bumps and lumps are glands. The glands produce a whitish goo that is a foul-tasting and smelly poison. The poison is a toad’s ultimate defense in a predator attack. It is toxic enough to kill small animals, if they swallow enough of it. The toxin can cause skin and eye irritation in humans. Some people used to think toad warts were contagious. Touching a toad can’t cause human warts, but licking a toad might make you sick! Toads have other defenses too. Their camouflage green/gray/brown colors blend perfectly into their surroundings. They can puff up with air to look bigger, and maybe less appetizing. Pull Out and Save Pull Out and Pick one up, and it might pee on your hand. Toads Travel, Frogs Swim Toads and frogs are amphibians with some similarities and quite a few differences. Amphibians spend all or part of their life in water. Frogs have moist, smooth skin that loses moisture easily. A toad’s dry, bumpy skin doesn’t lose water as easily as frog skin. Frogs are always in water or very near it, otherwise they quickly dehydrate and die. -
Common Frog Rana Temporaria
Common frog Rana temporaria Description Common frogs are common, widespread and easily recognisable amphibians. They have smooth, moist skin and long stripy legs. Common frogs are usually olive-green, although their colouration can be variable (from brown, yellow, cream or black, to pink, red, or lime-green). They have a dark patch (‘mask’) around the eye and eardrum, and often have other irregular black blotches over their body and limbs. They have large golden eyes with oval horizontal pupils. Frogs hop and jump rather than walk or crawl, and they are most active at night. They hibernate during the winter in pond mud or under piles of rotting leaves, logs or stones. Outside the breeding season, frogs are largely terrestrial and can be found in meadows, gardens and woodland. Breeding takes place in ponds, lakes, canals, and even wet grassland or puddles! Spawning usually occurs in January in the milder areas of the UK, but not until March to April in the North or upland areas. Mating pairs and masses of clumpy frogspawn can often be seen in waterbodies during this time. The eggs hatch into tadpoles within two to three weeks. What they eat Adult frogs eat snails, slugs, worms, insects and other invertebrates caught using their long sticky tongue. Young tadpoles feed on algae, but become carnivorous as they mature. Where and when to see them z Frogs can be spotted in ponds, lakes, canals, meadows, woodlands and gardens most commonly between February and October. z Look for frogspawn just below the surface of the water. Frogs lay a mass of jelly-like eggs, whereas toadspawn is produced in long strings. -
Wales Information for S6284
European Community Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora (92/43/EEC) Fourth Report by the United Kingdom under Article 17 on the implementation of the Directive from January 2013 to December 2018 Supporting documentation for the conservation status assessment for the species: S6284 ‐ Natterjack toadEpidalea ( calamita) WALES IMPORTANT NOTE ‐ PLEASE READ • The information in this document is a country‐level contribution to the UK Reporton the conservation status of this species, submitted to the European Commission aspart of the 2019 UK Reporting under Article 17 of the EU Habitats Directive. • The 2019 Article 17 UK Approach document provides details on how this supporting information was used to produce the UK Report. • The UK Report on the conservation status of this species is provided in a separate doc‐ ument. • The reporting fields and options used are aligned to those set out in the European Com‐ mission guidance. • Explanatory notes (where provided) by the country are included at the end. These pro‐ vide an audit trail of relevant supporting information. • Some of the reporting fields have been left blank because either: (i) there was insuffi‐ cient information to complete the field; (ii) completion of the field was not obligatory; (iii) the field was not relevant to this species (section 12 Natura 2000 coverage forAnnex II species) and/or (iv) the field was only relevant at UK‐level (sections 9 Future prospects and 10 Conclusions). • For technical reasons, the country‐level future trends for Range, Population and Habitat for the species are only available in a separate spreadsheet that contains all the country‐ level supporting information. -
Early Onset of Breeding Season in the Green Toad Bufotes Viridis in Western Poland
Herpetozoa 32: 109–112 (2019) DOI 10.3897/herpetozoa.32.e35825 Early onset of breeding season in the green toad Bufotes viridis in Western Poland Mikołaj Kaczmarski1, Klaudia Szala1, Janusz Kloskowski1 1 Poznan University of Life Sciences, Institute of Zoology, Wojska Polskiego 71c, 60-625, Poznań, Poland http://zoobank.org/083A67C2-D89B-4631-BFEC-D610D396E68F Corresponding author: Mikołaj Kaczmarski ([email protected]) Academic editor: Andreas Maletzky ♦ Received 29 July 2018 ♦ Accepted 9 January 2019 ♦ Published 22 May 2019 Abstract Amphibians are highly sensitive to environmental changes such as climate warming. Here, we report unusually early oviposition in two spatially isolated urban subpopulations of the green toad Bufotes viridis Laurenti, 1768, in Poznań, Western Poland. To our knowledge, we report the earliest breeding date for Central and Eastern Europe, for areas of similar latitude. We ascribe the early onset of B. viridis reproduction to an exceptionally warm spring in Western Poland in 2017. B. viridis shows flexibility in the timing of reproductive activity, however, shifts in breeding phenology may have both beneficial and detrimental population consequences. Key Words Amphibia, Anura, climate change, global warming, phenology, Poznań Global warming affects the phenology of amphibians (e.g. 2017): Park Cytadela [52°25'26"N, 16°55'56"E], a stone Beebee 1995; Muths et al. 2017), inducing shifts in repro- garden/amphitheatre with a permanent shallow concrete ductive periods that may influence amphibian populations pond (area: ca. 5,150 m2) and Park Rataje [52°23'9"N, both directly (e.g. mortality rates) and indirectly (e.g. im- 16°57'20"E], a post-industrial area containing debris and pacts on terrestrial and aquatic habitats, changes in food concrete waste, where, due to a non-permeable clay sub- webs or the spread of diseases) (Blaustein et al. -
Herpetofauna of the Podkielecki Landscape Protection Area
Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Vol. 30 No 2(80): 32-40 Ochrona Środowiska i Zasobów Naturalnych DOI 10.2478/oszn-2019-0008 Dariusz Wojdan*, Ilona Żeber-Dzikowska**, Barbara Gworek***, Agnieszka Pastuszko****, Jarosław Chmielewski***** Herpetofauna of the Podkielecki Landscape Protection Area * Uniwersytet Jana Kochanowskiego w Kielcach, ** Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Zawodowa w Płocku, *** Szkoła Główna Gospodarstwa Wiejskiego w Warszawie, **** Instytut Ochrony Środowiska - Państwowy Instytut Badawczy w Warszawie, ***** Wyższa Szkoła Rehabilitacji w Warszawie; e-mail: [email protected] Keywords: Amphibians, reptiles, occurrence, biology, phenology, Podkielecki Landscape Protection Area Abstract The study was conducted in 2016-2017 in the Podkielecki Landscape Protection Area (area 26,485 ha). It was focused on the occurrence and distribution of amphibians and reptiles, the biology of the selected species and the existing threats. Established in 1995, the Podkielecki Landscape Protection Area surrounds the city of Kielce from the north, east and south-east, and adjoins several other protected areas. It covers the western part of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (part of the Klonowskie and Masłowskie ranges) and the southern part of the Suchedniów Plateau. The studied area is mostly covered by forest and thicket communities (48.1%) and farmlands (39.9%), followed by built-up areas (7.8%), industrial areas (0.5%), roads and railways (2.7%), and surface water bodies (1%). The protected area is developed mainly on Palaeozoic rocks, including Cambrian and Ordovician sandstones, Silurian and Carboniferous shales, and Devonian marls. Podzolic soils predominate among soils. The largest rivers include Lubrzanka, Czarna Nida, Bobrza and Belnianka. There are no natural lakes within the PLPA limits, and the largest artificial reservoirs include the Cedzyna Reservoir, Morawica Reservoir, Suków Sandpit and two sedimentation reservoirs of the Kielce Power Plant. -
Missouri's Toads and Frogs Booklet
TOADSMissouri’s andFROGS by Jeffrey T. Briggler and Tom R. Johnson, Herpetologists www.MissouriConservation.org © 1982, 2008 Missouri Conservation Commission Equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from programs of the Missouri Department of Conservation is available to all individuals without regard to their race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. Questions should be directed to the Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102, (573) 751-4115 (voice) or 800-735-2966 (TTY), or to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Federal Assistance, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Mail Stop: MBSP-4020, Arlington, VA 22203. Cover photo: Eastern gray treefrog by Tom R. Johnson issouri toads and frogs are colorful, harmless, vocal and valuable. Our forests, prairies, rivers, swamps and marshes are Mhome to a multitude of toads and frogs, but few people know how many varieties we have, how to tell them apart, or much about their natural history. Studying these animals and sharing their stories with fellow Missourians is one of the most pleasurable and rewarding aspects of our work. Toads and frogs are amphibians—a class Like most of vertebrate animals that also includes amphibians, salamanders and the tropical caecilians, which are long, slender, wormlike and legless. frogs and Missouri has 26 species and subspecies (or toads have geographic races) of toads and frogs. Toads and frogs differ from salamanders by having an aquatic relatively short bodies and lacking tails at adulthood. Being an amphibian means that tadpole stage they live two lives: an aquatic larval or tadpole and a semi- stage and a semi-aquatic or terrestrial adult stage. -
UK Priority Species Data Collation Epidalea Calamita Version 2 Updated on 15/12/2010
UK Priority Species data collation Epidalea calamita version 2 updated on 15/12/2010. UK priority species pages – Version 2 To find out more about the JNCC priority species pages visit http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page- 5161 To find out more about JNCC visit http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-1729 1 | Page UK Priority Species data collation Epidalea calamita version 2 updated on 15/12/2010. SPECIES PAGES FOR 2007 UK BAP PRIORITY SPECIES (see endnotes for an explanation of the various components of this compilation). Epidalea calamita (Laurenti, 1768) Natterjack Toad 1 General information Level 1 Herptiles (amphibians and reptiles) Level 2 amphibian On 1997 UK Species Action Plan BAP list 2 UK BAP criteriai 1. International 2. International 3. Marked 4. Other threat responsibility decline in the important (2a) + moderate UK factor(s) decline in UK (2b) False False False True 3 Evidence for Criteriaii Criterion 1 Criterion 2a Criterion 2b Criterion 3 An existing `old` Priority Species, where factors that caused the original decline are still operating or the species population has not recovered to long term viability. Range edge population, approx 6% European pop in UK; highly fragmented populations; massive historic decline; decline factors still operating; conservation-dependent. Occurs in sand dunes, Criterion 4 saltmarsh, grazing marsh and lowland heaths. 4 Distribution by Country England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland International Waters Y Y Y N 5 Distribution Information Distribution data source Stage 1 information Distribution data notes Re-introduced to Wales as part of current BAP process number of sites (where less than or equal to 10) 2 | Page UK Priority Species data collation Epidalea calamita version 2 updated on 15/12/2010. -
T-PVS/Inf (2017) 20 [Inf20e 2017.Docx]
Strasbourg, 23 October 2017 T-PVS/Inf (2017) 20 [Inf20e_2017.docx] CONVENTION ON THE CONSERVATION OF EUROPEAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL HABITATS Standing Committee 37th meeting Strasbourg, 5-8 December 2017 GROUP OF EXPERTS ON AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES 9-10 October 2017 Trondheim, Norway - NATIONAL REPORTS - Compilation prepared by the Directorate of Democratic Citizenship and Participation / The reports are being circulated in the form and the languages in which they were received by the Secretariat. This document will not be distributed at the meeting. Please bring this copy. Ce document ne sera plus distribué en réunion. Prière de vous munir de cet exemplaire. T-PVS/Inf (2017) 20 - 2 – CONTENTS / SOMMAIRE __________ 1. Armenia / Arménie 2. Austria / Autriche 3. Estonia / Estonie 4. “The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” / « ex-République yougoslave de Macédoine » - 3 - T-PVS/Inf (2017) 20 ARMENIA / ARMÉNIE IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATION NO. 176 (2015) OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE, ADOPTED 4TH DECEMBER, 2015 ON THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF THE BATRACHOCHYTRIUM SALAMANDRIVORANS CHYTRID FUNGUS The Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans have not been identified in the territory of Armenia yet /Herbarium materials of the Yerevan State University/. On the small territory of the country (about 30 thousand km2) there are about 3800 species of vascular plants, 428 species of soil and water algae, 399 species of mosses, 4207 species of fungi. In the Red Book of Plants of Armenia 452 species of vascular plants (11,89 % of the flora of Armenia) and 40 species of fungi (1,05% of the biota of Armenia) are registered. 6 species of fungi were assessed as Critically Endangered (CR) according to IUCN criteria and they need urgent protection. -
Amphibians & Reptiles in the Garden
Amphibians & Reptiles in the Garden Slow-worm by Mike Toms lthough amphibians and reptiles belong to two different taxonomic classes, they are often lumped together. Together they share some ecological similarities and may even look superficially similar. Some are familiar A garden inhabitants, others less so. Being able to identify the different species can help Garden BirdWatchers to accurately record those species using their gardens and may also reassure those who might be worried by the appearance of a snake. Only a small number of native amphibians and reptiles, plus a handful of non-native species, breed in the UK. So, with a few identification tips and a little understanding of their ecology and behaviour, they are fairly easy to identify. This guide sets out to help you improve your identification skills, not only for general Garden BirdWatch recording, but also in the hope that you will help us with a one-off survey of these fascinating creatures. Several of our amphibians thrive in the garden and five of the native Amphibians species, Common Frog, Common Toad and the three newts, can reasonably be expected to be found in the garden for at least part of the year. There are also a few introduced species which have been recorded from gardens, together with our remaining native species, which although rare need to be considered for completeness. Common Frog: (right) Rana temporaria Common Toad: (below) Grows to 6–7 cm. Bufo bufo Predominant colour Has ‘warty’ skin which looks is brown, but often dry when the animal is on variable, including land. -
Amphibian Identification
Amphibian Identification Common frog Adults 6-7 cm. Smooth skin, which appears moist. Coloration variable, includes brown, yellow and orange. Some females have red markings on lower body. Usually has a dark ‘mask’ marking behind the eye. Breeding male Markings also variable, Grey/pale blue including varying amounts throat. of black spots and stripes. Thick front legs. Dark (nuptial) pad on inner toes of Young froglets look like the front feet. Spawn is laid in gelatinous smaller versions of the clumps. adults. Common toad Adults 5-9 cm. Rough skin. Brown with darker markings. Less commonly, some individuals are very dark, almost black, others are brick-red. Breeding pair Males smaller than females. Breeding males can also be distinguished by dark (nuptial) pads on innermost two toes of the front feet. Toad spawn is laid in gelatinous strings, wrapped around vegetation. Less conspicuous than common frog spawn. Makes small hops rather than jumps of common frog. Toadlets transforming from the Juveniles are tadpole stage are often very dark similar colours in colour. to adults, including brick-red. ARG UK Natterjack toad Strictly protected species, requiring Similar in size and appearance to common toad, a licence to handle but with a pale stripe running along the back. or disturb. This is a rare species, unlikely to be found outside specific dune and heathland habitats. On hatching common frog and toad tadpoles Frog Tadpoles are black. As they develop, common frog tadpoles become mottled with bronze, whereas toad tadpoles remain uniformly dark until the last stages of development. Common frog and toad tadpoles generally complete Toad development in the summer, but development rates are variable; some tadpoles may not transform until later in the year, or they may even remain as tadpoles over winter, becoming much larger than normal.