Tuesday 15 July 2014

July 15th, 2014



Toadlets are on the move!!

Even with the hot dry weather, the toadlets are now dispersing from Wake Lake. Toadlets were observed on Barnjum Rd last night (July 14th, 2014) and again early this morning.  There has also been reports of toadlets on Riverbottom Rd this morning (July 15th).  Peak movement times coincide with the cooler periods of the day - dawn (5 am to 9 am) and then again in the evening (from 7 pm or so on wards).  

We are monitoring where the toads are crossing the road and estimating the mortality.  We are not installing pit fall traps.  Please help spread the word that the annual toadlet migration is under way and to avoid driving on Barnjum and Riverbottom Roads during the early morning and late evening.  Also, remember that toadlets could be dispersing from other breeding sites in the valley. If you see a migration spot, please let us know.

Stay tuned for further updates.

Shari and Elke

Monday 14 July 2014

Update for July 14th, 2014

Cowichan Valley Western Toad Project Update for July 14th, 2014


Adult Western Toad



Welcome to the Cowichan Valley Western Toad Project Blog.  We are going to use this blog as a means to keep all of our volunteers and supporters informed about the Western Toad populations in the Cowichan Valley. Please feel free to share this blog with other people who would be interested to learn about or get involved with this project.






Adult Western Toad found 
in a backyard garden




We are pleased to announce that studies on Western Toad populations in the Cowichan Valley are continuing in 2014.  We are excited to have ongoing support from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MoTI) and the Ministry of Environment (MoE). 








For more information on Western Toads, please visit:


BC Frogwatch:
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/frogwatch/

Species at Risk Public Registry:
http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/species/speciesDetails_e.cfm?sid=748




Previous areas of focus for our project include:

  • Monitoring the breeding site at Wake Lake.
  • Identification of additional breeding sites throughout the Valley.
  • Mid-summer toadlet rescues (salvages at road crossings) during their dispersal away from Wake Lake (and at other locations).
  • Potential use of existing culverts as a means of getting toadlets across the road.
  • Spring and fall road surveys along Barnjum and Riverbottom Road to locate road crossing hotspots for adult toads. These areas may be indicative of the most effective location for the installation of wildlife underpasses in the future.
  • A radio telemetry pilot study tracking the movements of two adult toads in the fall.
  • A controlled experiment using toads from Morrell Lake in Nanaimo to see which radio transmitter belt design is most effective for a longer-term field study.

Educational sign at Wake Lake park installed by the CVRD

Our primary focus for 2014 includes:

Directive fencing to encourage wildlife to use culverts as underpasses
  • Tracking adult toad movement patterns;
  • Locating winter hibernation sites; and
  • Monitoring culvert conditions as potential wildlife underpasses







When will the toadlets disperse from Wake Lake?

Thousands of tiny toadlets along a drainage dispersing from
 Wake Lake in the summer of 2012
The tadpoles at Wake Lake are now tiny toadlets and were observed moving up on to the sphagnum on July 9th.  The front legs have appeared and the tail is gone.  The toadlets will move in and out of the lake for the next few days as they prepare to head out into the terrestrial environment.  We will continue to monitor the roadside along Barnjum Rd and Riverbottom Rd on a daily basis for toadlets and watch to see if they will use the current directive fencing and culverts. 

A single toadlet  crossing a gravel road
We will not be installing pit fall traps this summer for the toadlet migration as we have done in past years (2011 and 2012).   However, we will be monitoring their movement patterns as they disperse from breeding sites and there could also be an opportunity to try and estimate mortality rates at road crossing points.  Pitfall trapping is not being conducted in 2014 due to the uncertainty of the impact of such measures on the toadlets.

Remember that the onset of the toadlet dispersal often coincides with rain events.  One of the best ways to help this animals’ population success is to avoid driving the roads where known toadlet migrations occur during summer. The toadlets move throughout the day during rain events, but during hot, dry weather, movement tends to occur at dawn (5-9am) and dusk (6-10pm) when moisture levels are higher and temperatures cooler.




Western toad road crossing sign 

Do you know of a breeding site or road crossing location?

We are very interested in documenting known breeding locations, road crossing points for toadlet migrations and sub-adult or adult sightings and BC Frogwatch is a valuable tool to share this information with other scientists or volunteers.  If you are out and about during the summer and you see a migration of toadlets, please report the occurrence and location to this project (shari@vigis.ca) and to BC Frogwatch (http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/frogwatch/frogwatching/report/).




Why did the toad cross the road?

In order to better understand the habitat requirements of Western Toads, we are now expanding the project to look at fall movement patterns and winter hibernation sites.  In the fall of 2012 we conducted a radio telemetry pilot project and fitted two toads with radio transmitters.  Each toad was re-located every 2-3 days and their movements were plotted on a map.  While we were unable to track the two toads to their overwintering sites (both toads slipped their belts within 2 weeks of attachment), the pilot study yielded some interesting information on unique movement patterns. For example, one toad travelled in an almost straight-line distance of approximately 1379 m over its 16-day tracking period, moving through numerous properties, crossing two roads, and travelling through relatively open habitat. The second toad remained on the same private property where it was initially captured, moving less than 40 m between re-locations (every 3 days), less than 100 m total over the 10-day tracking period, and no farther than 50 m from its original capture and release point.   

Radio transmitter belts in a range of sizes
During the tracking period both toads showed signs of skin irritation at the belt attachment location. Ideally, the equipment used for a telemetry study should not affect the behaviour of the study animal (e.g., via a skin irritation) in order to have the most accurate results as possible in terms of activity patterns and habitat use. Therefore, in the spring of 2014, 24 male toads were collected, fitted with one of three transmitter belt designs, and released into enclosures.  The toads were observed on a daily basis for three weeks to monitor the effects of the transmitter belts as well as the toad’s ability to slip out of the belts.

We are now preparing to tag track adult toads in the fall of 2014 (October onwards) in order to record their movement patterns and hopefully find some overwintering (hibernation) sites.  Ideally we would like to try to have 3 toads fitted with transmitters at any given time in the fall (the toads being tracked will vary over the course of the tracking season) and we would love help from volunteers to locate toads and to help track them.


How can you help? We need volunteers in several ways:


1.       Preparation – we need to find areas where we are likely to locate an adult toad in the fall and then make a list of the neigbours in that vicinity. This needs to happen before the end of September so that we have plenty of time for land owner contact.  If you see adult toads in your yard on a regular basis, please contact us so that we can let you know when to watch for an adult that we can track this fall.

2.       Getting the word out - Do you know your neighbours? This is where we need the most help. We could use help informing people about the telemetry project and getting names and contact details for land owners in our study areas.  We would like to be able to contact private property owners to ask for permission to track toads on private land.  Although one of the larger known breeding sites is at Wake Lake which is in a CVRD ecological reserve, most of the surrounding area is privately owned properties. We want to respect people’s privacy and do not want to trespass to locate a toad.  It is also helpful to know what homes have dogs or other livestock and to let land owners know when to expect us when we are out locating toads.

3.        Locating toads with transmitters –Once a toad is fitted with a transmitter, we attempt to track it for anywhere from 2 to 9+ weeks.  Fitted toads need to be located every 2 to 3 days to record their location and have a health check (e.g., make sure that their belt is fitting properly). This may require walking on uneven ground through thick shrubs and forest.   One or two volunteer assistants per toad location trip would be very helpful.  Volunteers would never locate toads without a project lead person. 

Adult toad crossing a road to reach a breeding site in early spring

We will continue to post project up dates to this blog, so check back often to see what we are up to, what we are learning and how you can get involved.

Shari and Elke


If you have any information on toad breeding sites, road crossing locations, or are 
interested in being involved with the toad telemetry project, please contact:

Shari Willmott at: shari@vigis.ca  or 250 597 7473

Or

Elke Wind at: ewind@telus.net or 250 716 1119