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NEYEDC improve and inform environmental decision making, conservation, land management and sustainable development in North and East Yorkshire through the collation, management, analysis and dissemination of biodiversity information.

The Natural History of Yorkshire in 100 Species

Explore the rich and diverse natural history of our region through the stories of 100 species, told by the people who know them best.

#17 Common Toad by Kate Wright

Meet Kate Wright, Project Officer for the Freshwater Habitats Trust!

Kate is the Project Officer for a partnership project ‘Saving Nidderdale’s Priority Ponds’. The Freshwater Habitats Trust has joined forces with Nidderdale AONB to undertake work to save priority ponds from being degraded and lost across the area, thanks to generous funding through Yorkshire Water’s Biodiversity Programme. Nidderdale AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) stretches from the high moorland of Great Whernside south and east across farmland, reservoirs and woodlands towards the edge of the Vale of York. Over the course of the 16-month project, the aim is to identify ponds of greatest value to biodiversity, learning more about them and the species present there. You can contact Kate at kwright@freshwaterhabitats.org.uk and you can keep up to date with the project on their website or follow them on twitter at @katewfreshwater #NiddPonds.

Kate’s chosen species is the Common Toad Bufo bufo. There are seven native species of amphibian in the UK, including two species of toad. The Common Toad is the most widespread, being found across mainland Britain. Unlike frogs, toads have a rough, dry, warty skin that is usually brown or olive-brown in colour with a pale belly. When fully grown, males are around 8cm long whereas adult females are larger and can reach 12+cm in length. Common Toads spend much of their time on land, and are much more tolerant of dry conditions than other amphibian species such as the Common Frog. During the day, toads will be tucked away, but at night they become active and will search out their food prey - invertebrates such as ants, beetles, snails, slugs and spiders. Their eyes have an oval horizontal pupil and striking bronze coloured iris. You can find out more about this species on the NBN Atlas.

It was in 2015/2016 that Kate first became fascinated by this species, carrying out surveys as a volunteer for the Freshwater Habitats Trust and the Yorkshire Amphibian and Reptile Group. After finding large aggregations of over 500 adult toads at two different sites close to her home, she was hooked!

Common Toads breed in the spring, usually several weeks after frogs. They have a strong migratory instinct and will follow the same route back to ancestral breeding ponds each spring. After a relatively short breeding period, which can last a matter of days, adult toads move away from the ponds back to terrestrial habitat. Toadspawn is laid in strings, unlike the clumps we associate with frogs. After around three months, tiny toadlets emerge from ponds in huge numbers in early summer.

Common toad © Barry Carter (L) and Kate Wright (R).

Preferring larger, deeper ponds than frogs, the Common Toad likes to have areas of clean, open water. Suitable ponds may include farm ponds, reservoirs, fish ponds or village duck ponds, but sadly these types of freshwater body are threatened in many parts of the UK. Half of the UK’s ponds were lost in the twentieth century and, of those remaining, 90% are damaged by pollution. This is particularly relevant to amphibians, which have absorbent skins that put them at high risk of pollutant intake. Agrochemicals, oil spills, excreta from high density farming close to ponds and acid rain all threaten aquatic habitats, but the highest threat is thought to come from nitrate fertilisers, which are highly poisonous to both adults and larvae.

Over-stocking ponds with ducks or other wildfowl may also cause issues; these graze on aquatic plants, damaging and removing vegetation. In combination with their excreta, eutrophication of the water and depletion of oxygen levels can be catastrophic for many aquatic species, particularly tadpoles. However, toads are resilient in some situations. Glands in the skin of adults and tadpoles contain powerful toxins that deter would-be predators, meaning unlike other amphibian species, they can coexist with many fish species and breed successfully in stocked ponds.

Toad spawn ® Kate Wright

Although they have rather specific requirements for breeding ponds, they are much less fussy in their choice of terrestrial habitat, with rough grassland and woodland being favoured. However, in the process of returning to their breeding ponds, toads may migrate several miles. If habitat is fragmented due to development or the intensification of farming, this makes their migrations riskier. Toad patrols have been set up in many urban areas to help toads safely navigate busy roads in order to reach their breeding ponds.

In Yorkshire, Common Toads are most frequently recorded in the south and west of the county. Records from North Yorkshire are less widespread, and within Nidderdale AONB just 29 records are held by NEYEDC for this species. With some of these being terrestrial sightings, these records identify only ten breeding ponds with the AONB area. This likely indicates under-recording of the species rather than a true representation of their current distribution.

In comes Saving Nidderdale’s Priority Ponds! As part of this new project, more than 1,000 ponds have already been identified within Nidderdale AONB, and reports of toads from previously unrecorded sites are now being submitted.

‘Our new project aims to find ponds across the area that offer clean water for wildlife, and to gain a fuller understanding of the distribution of the Common Toad. We recruited a team of volunteer surveyors and carried out amphibian surveys at fifty sites to look for common toads and other species in Spring 2022. Surveys re-assessed sites where toads have historically been recorded, and looked for them in new areas. Alongside this, we carried out clean water testing of over two hundred ponds to assess levels of nitrate and phosphate. The aim was to identify sites with clean water status that have the greatest potential to support a range of aquatic species, and work with landowners to protect these valuable areas.’

The project also delivers a range of educational events, ID courses, and training. Kate is pleased to now be able to work on a project involving her favourite species.

Monitoring

Records of amphibians in the North and East Yorkshire area, including the common toad, can be submitted to us here at NEYEDC. The Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust also run the National Amphibian and Reptile Recording Scheme (NARRS) where you can submit records nationwide. The Freshwater Habitats Trust also runs an annual PondNet Spawn Survey, which anyone can get involved with from home, which runs from January until May. There are often opportunities to get involved with surveying through the Freshwater Habitats Trust’s many project and surveys, which you can find more information on here.

Further information and acknowledgements

NEYEDC would like to thank Kate for her time and expertise in helping to create this blog. If you’d be interested in contributing a piece for the series, contact Lucy at lucy.baldwin@neyedc.co.uk. To find out more about biological recording, see the Naturalists page on our website.

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