Can Britain's Common Toads Survive from Roads and Population Collapse?

It's Friday evening at 7:30, but instead of heading to the pub or relaxing at home, I've taken a train to a market town in the countryside to join local helpers from a amphibian rescue group. These committed people give up their nights to safeguard the native amphibian community.

An Alarming Decline in Population

The Bufo bufo is becoming increasingly uncommon. A recent research led by an amphibian and reptile charity revealed that the British common toad numbers have dropped by half since the mid-1980s. Observing a species that has been a stalwart of the UK landscape in decline is described as "worrying" by researchers. Toads "don't need very particular environments" and "should be able to live quite well in the majority of habitats in the UK," so if even they are struggling to persist, "it kind of suggests that things are not as they should be."

The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985

The Danger from Roads

Though the research didn't cover the reasons for the decline, traffic certainly plays a part. Estimates suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on British roads every year – that is, several hundred thousand. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be content to mate "if you left out a bucket of water," toads favor large ponds. Their capacity to remain away from water for more time than frogs allows they can journey farther to reach them – sometimes long distances. They usually follow their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for adult toads to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Patterns

Appropriately enough, the first toads begin their quest for a partner around Valentine's day, but others travel as late as April, waiting until it gets night and travelling after sunset. During that time, toads start moving from wherever they have been hibernating "all pretty much at the same time."

One volunteer, who was raised in the area and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a boy, explains 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 be lost – stopping a new generation of toads from being produced.

Rescue Groups Throughout the UK

Seeing hundreds of toad carcasses on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to the creation of rescue teams across the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a national initiative. These groups collect toads and carry them across roads in buckets, as well as counting the quantity of toads they encounter and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers tend to operate during the migration season, when amphibian movements are more regular. However, this implies they can miss groups of toadlets, which, having existed as eggs and then juveniles, exit their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in late summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they are destroyed by vehicles." And as being hit "basically turns them into mush," it's more difficult to collect information on them. At least when mature amphibians are lost, their remains can be counted.

Year-Round Work

Unlike most patrols, one local team, who are in their eighth season of operating, go out throughout the year – not every night, but whenever conditions are warm and wet, or if someone has reported about a amphibian spotting in their group chat. When I request to accompany them on duty, they concede it is "not a toady night" – toad hibernation season has started and it's been a arid period – but several of the volunteers willingly accept to walk up and down their area with me and search for any toads. "If anyone can find any toads tonight, those two will find one," says the patrol manager, indicating her teenage child and the experienced member. We've been out for 120 minutes without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled a barbed wire fence to inspect beneath some logs.

Family Participation

The mother and son became part of the patrol a while back. The youngster adores all things wildlife and has an goal to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to look for activities they could do jointly to protect native animals. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the 41-year-old small business owner explains – so when the team was looking for a fresh coordinator lately, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the organization. A clip he created, urging the local council to block a road through a protected area during breeding time, swung the decision the team's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the authority agreed to an "restricted access" restriction between evening and morning from late winter through to April. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

A few cars go by when I'm out on patrol and we discover some victims as a consequence – no toads, but three squashed newts. We spot one living newt as well, and the teenager is particularly pleased to see a harvestman, which moves in his hands. Yet in spite of the group's best efforts to let me see a toad, the local population has obviously settled down for the colder months. It seems that I wouldn't have had any more luck anywhere else in the country – all the patrol groups I reach out to 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 generously taken the trouble to check for toads in a famous site, considered the biggest tracked toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "No toads." However, in late winter, he informs me, the team plans to assist approximately ten thousand mature amphibians across the road.

Effectiveness and Challenges

What level of impact can these organizations actually make? "The fact that volunteers are performing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is quite extraordinary," notes an researcher. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while rescue teams are able to slow the decline, they cannot prevent it entirely – partly since vehicles is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The climate crisis has resulted in extended spells of dry weather, which cause the poor environment for some of the animals that toads consume, such as worms and slugs, while higher water temperatures have caused an rise of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to emerge from their dormancy more frequently, interfering with the energy conservation crucial to their existence. Loss of environment – especially the loss of large ponds – is another menace.

Researchers are "always a bit worried about overemphasizing practical benefits on biodiversity," but "It's important in just having these animals around." But toads play an significant part in the ecosystem, consuming almost any invertebrates or small animals they can swallow and in turn feeding a number of birds and mammals, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving conditions for toads – such as building water habitats, conserving woodland and constructing amphibian passages – "benefits for a wide range of other species."

Cultural Significance

An additional motive to try to keep toads around is their "historical significance," notes an expert. Myths and folklore around toads go back {centuries|hundred