Researchers show optimal pond conditions for Swiss amphibians
Published: Friday, May 10th 2024, 17:00
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The location and size of ponds are crucial for the success of amphibian breeding. This is shown by a study for which researchers analyzed the colonization of ponds in the Swiss Plateau by 12 amphibian species over the last 20 years.
According to the study published in the journal "Conservation Biology", frogs, newts, toads and the like are more likely to colonize ponds if there are at least two already colonized ponds within a radius of 500 metres. Overall, most of the amphibian species studied also benefit from ponds with a minimum size of 100 square meters. According to the study, ponds that regularly dry out and are located in open areas are also beneficial for many amphibian species.
However, there is no one ideal pond that is equally suitable for all species, wrote the scientists led by first author Helen Moor from the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) in the study. They therefore recommend a variety of different pond types.
Unique data set from Aargau
According to the researchers, this analysis was made possible by a unique long-term monitoring program that accompanied the construction of hundreds of new ponds in an intensively used landscape in the canton of Aargau. In the 1990s, a survey in Aargau showed a sharp decline in seven amphibian species, as the researchers explained. These included midwife toads, yellow-bellied toads, tree frogs and newts.
As a result, the canton began monitoring these species in 1999, along with some other common species. By 2019, 422 new ponds had been created in the region. The researchers used this data set for their analysis.
In any case, the Aargau program was successful: a recent analysis of this data set showed that all twelve monitored amphibian species readily colonized newly created ponds. Even for species that had been in decline for decades, the number of populations in the region stabilized or increased.
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