Arboreal anural amphibians amaze academics
9 Jul 2022
A study intended to track tree-dwelling mammal species has uncovered a surprise occupant in the branches – toads.
Years of research into bat and dormice behaviour by a team from Cambridge University revealed nearly 70 instances of amphibians in tree cavities and nesting boxes. The majority of these were Common Toads (bufo bufo).
Dr Silviu Petrovan, who led the team whose work was detailed in PLOS One journal, described the evidence as ‘significant and exciting’.
While toads are known to frequent woodlands for prey such as slugs and woodlice, much less is known about their climbing activity then that of certain frog species.
The research was carried out with the Froglife charity and volunteers working on the National Dormouse Monitoring Programme run by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species and the Bat Tree Habitat Key project.
It collated hundreds of dormice site data since 2009 and nearly 1,400 trees examined for bats. Most of the nest boxes containing amphibians were a minimum of 4 ft above ground level and one toad recorded a climb of more than 10ft.
Said the report authors: “Terrestrial anurans, with their typically short limbs, heavy-set bodies and absent claws or toe pads are incongruous tree climbers, but even occasional arboreal locomotion could offer substantial advantages for evading predators or accessing new shelter or food resources.”
They urged further encouragement of linking unrelated biodiversity monitoring surveys and citizen science initiatives.
PIC: Atypeek Dgn
