Will the UK's Common Toads Survive from Traffic and Population Collapse?

It is Friday evening at 7:30, but instead of going out or watching a film, I've taken a train to a town in the countryside to join local helpers from a toad patrol. These committed people give up their evenings to protect the native amphibian community.

An Alarming Decline in Numbers

The common toad is becoming increasingly uncommon. A latest study led by an wildlife conservation group showed that the UK toad population have dropped by half since 1985. Seeing a creature that has been a fixture of the British countryside in decline is described as "concerning" by researchers. Toads "don't require very specific conditions" and "should be able to live quite well in the majority of habitats in Britain," meaning if even they are not managing to survive, "it kind of suggests that things are not as they should be."

Toad populations across the UK have declined by almost 50% since the 1980s

The Danger from Traffic

Though the research didn't examine the causes for the decline, traffic is a major factor. Estimates indicate that 20 tons of toads are killed on British roads annually – in other words, hundreds of thousands. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be content to mate "if you left out a small container," toads prefer big bodies of water. Their capacity to stay out of water for more time than frogs means they can travel further to reach them – sometimes long distances. They usually stick to their traditional paths – it's common for adult toads to return to their natal pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Fittingly, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a mate around Valentine's day, but others travel as far as April, until it gets night and travelling after sunset. During that time, toads begin migrating from wherever they have been overwintering "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who was raised in the region and has been working to save its toad population since he was a child, explains that "They've got just one focus: to go and mate." If their route crosses a street, they could be killed by traffic, and that breeding season would be lost – stopping a new generation of toads from being born.

Toad Patrols Throughout the United Kingdom

Seeing hundreds of toad carcasses on nearby streets "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the creation of rescue teams throughout the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a countrywide program. These teams pick up toads and transport them over streets in buckets, as well as counting the quantity of toads they find and lobbying for other protection measures, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers usually work during the breeding period, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this means they can miss numbers of young toads, which, having existed as eggs and then juveniles, exit their water habitats over an irregular timetable in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they can get obliterated by car traffic." And as being hit "essentially crushes them," it's harder to collect information on them. At least when adult toads are lost, their remains can be counted.

Year-Round Work

Unlike many groups, one local team, who are in their eighth season of functioning, go out year-round – not every night, but whenever weather are damp, or if a member has reported about a toad sighting in their group chat. When I request to accompany them on duty, they concede it is "not ideal conditions" – toad hibernation season has begun and it's been a arid period – but several of the volunteers willingly accept to patrol their route with me and search for any toads. "If anyone can find any toads tonight, that pair will spot one," says the group coordinator, pointing to her teenage child and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for 120 minutes without a single toad sighting, and now they have climbed over a barbed wire fence to check under some wood.

Community Involvement

The mother and son joined the patrol a while back. The teenager loves all things wildlife and has an goal to become a environmentalist, so his mother started to look for things they could do jointly to help local wildlife. Now she loves it as much as he does, the 41-year-old small business owner explains – so when the team was looking for a new manager recently, she volunteered for the role.

The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the organization. A video he created, urging the local council to close a street through a nature reserve during migration season, swung the decision the team's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the authority agreed to an "access-only" restriction between 5pm and 5am from February through to spring. Most drivers respected and avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Challenges

A few vehicles go by when I'm out on duty and we find some victims as a result – no toads, but several crushed salamanders. We spot one live amphibian as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a harvestman, which moves in his palms. Yet in spite of the group's best efforts to let me see a toad, the local population has clearly settled down for the colder months. It seems that I couldn't have found any better success anywhere else in the nation – all the patrol groups I reach out to explain that it's very difficult at this season.

The group expects to help approximately 10,000 adult toads across the road

A message I get from another volunteer, who has generously made the effort to look for toads in a famous site, thought to be the biggest tracked toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "None found." However, in late winter, he tells me, the team expects to help approximately ten thousand mature amphibians across the road.

Effectiveness and Challenges

What level of impact can these organizations actually make? "The reality that people are performing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is quite extraordinary," says an researcher. "That's something that very much should be celebrated." However, while rescue teams are able to slow the decline, they can't stop it completely – partly since vehicles is just one danger.

Other Dangers

The global warming has resulted in extended spells of drought, which create the poor environment for some of the animals that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have caused an increase of toxic plants, which can be harmful to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to emerge from their hibernation more frequently, interfering with the energy conservation crucial to their life cycle. Habitat destruction – especially the disappearance of large ponds – is another menace.

Experts are "often concerned about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on biodiversity," however "It's important in just their presence." But toads do have an important role in the ecosystem, eating almost any small creatures or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn feeding a variety of predators, such as wildlife. Improving situations for toads – such as creating more ponds, conserving woodland and constructing toad tunnels – "we'll improve them for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Historical Importance

Another reason to try to keep toads around is their "important cultural value," adds an specialist. Legends and tales around toads go back {centuries|hundred