Jersey Slow-worm survey

Please join our survey to help us find out more about the slow-worm in Jersey and its apparent attraction to compost. Drawn by the abundance of slugs and other food, slow-worms are the original gardener's friend. These shy and harmless animals look like small snakes but are in fact legless lizards.

Help us to build up a picture of how important compost heaps are to slow-worms and what sort of conditions suit them best. Hopefully we will collect enough information to establish a baseline to help us judge future trends and, where necessary, take action to conserve the species for the future.

Reptile and amphibian sightings

Jersey Amphibian and Reptile Group (JARG) in conjunction with Jersey’s Biodiversity Partnership has set up a recording database for reptiles and amphibians. Recording wildlife provides us with continual monitoring of the species found in Jersey. The records establish the distribution of species throughout Jersey, which help us to focus our conservation efforts where it is needed most.

http://www.gov.je/Environment/ProtectingEnvironment/Land/Endangered/Pages/Sightings.aspx

Toadwatch

Over the next few months, the Toadwatch Campaign is once again asking members of the public to send in records and reports of toad, tadpole and toad spawn sightings in and around their gardens and ponds. Any information about toad sightings, ponds with toads or ponds that were previously used as spawning sites but have now become dormant, can be sent to toadwatch@durrell.org or left as a detailed message on the Toadwatch line 860053.

http://www.durrell.org/In-the-field/Campaigns/Toadwatch/

During the course of the diet trials some interesting observations were made.  Initially it appeared that the tadpoles on the blended diet were growing slightly faster than the other diet groups, which was somewhat as we expected.  It was at this point that we began to notice some tadpoles with slightly crooked tails, mostly among the blended diet groups.  At this point we suspected the diet as the cause of the problem and the blended diet was stopped with the tadpoles from that group put on the standard fish flake regime.  As the tadpoles continued to develop the bent tail occurrences began to be seen in the other tanks as well (at a lower proportion), eventually all tanks presented with a proportion of individuals with bent tails.  As tadpoles began to develop further and back legs developed it was clear that some of the legs were also developing bowed which prevented them from functioning properly.  This development occurred independently from the bent tails. 

Overall the data collected appears to indicate that kinked tails developed more frequently in the blended diet group, but it was also present in a lower frequency in both bloodworm and fish flake groups. In contrast, the deformed legs appeared more abundantly in the blended diet and fish flake diet in comparison to lower frequencies, but still present, in the bloodworm diet.  Due to the timing of these occurrences rather late in the development of the tadpoles such that some releases had already occurred to Ouaisne.  As a result of these issues veterinary staff from Durrell, the States and staff from both institutions decided that the best solution was to preserve as many specimens as possible for viral, parasitic and molecular analysis. Some of the lesser affected tadpoles were retained to asses for potential vitamin B deficiency.  Trials with vitamin B baths were conducted but preliminary results are not enough evidence to make a strong conclusion on a cause of these issues.  Less tadpoles developed bent legs on the vitamin B supplement, however it is not known if they would have developed them naturally, or if the vitamin B actually prevented the deformity.

The total number of tadpoles release into Ouaisne this year was 2463.  Future analysis will look more deeply into a potential cause of these deformities including possible temperature effects (this year was warmer than normal) and potential monitoring of wild tadpoles for comparison to captive reared populations as we have no evidence to know whether wild populations faced increased deformities or similar situations as the captive reared populations this year.

It was so dry for so long that we were very concerned that conditions would never be right for the toads to make their way to their breeding ponds. However we made our first patrol at Grand Vaux reservoir this year on 23^rd February  and were successful in saving a handful of toads (together with some newts) from the perils of the road.  We continued our patrol at St Ouen’s Bay and although we found very few toads there too, we were pleased to be able to help a few here to safety.

We then waited for another suitable night…. and we waited…and we waited……the rain never seemed to come and so we decided to try another tack this year. Two of our keen Toadwatchers agreed to take responsibility for watching the roads in their area and reporting back to us on their findings. This seemed to be more sensible given the conditions - rather than a large group of us turning out to one area we were able to cover more areas on a regular basis. However we received no reports of large numbers of toads moving en masse nor of huge numbers killed on the roads and we just have to hope that they made their way to their ponds and back quietly and safely when we were not watching!

The strange season weather-wise also resulted in fewer reports of sightings of toads than normal but the reports we did receive have all been logged and we will be able to monitor trends each season.

We will be out and about again in 2012 looking for toads and hoping to hear lots  of reports from the people of Jersey again then.

Monitoring of the 2011 breeding season began on the 3^rd February in relatively mild weather conditions with good levels of standing water across the sites. For the third year running spawning had begun by the 2^nd week of February and continued for a further 5-6 weeks. The bulk of the spawn was laid in the first 3 weeks in relatively shallow areas of water and by the end of March significant numbers had hatched or were close to hatching. In total the numbers of spawn clumps laid was 116 and although slightly down on 2010, it is still very high in the context of recent years.

Unfortunately the late winter and early spring became one of the driest for many years and as a consequence water levels fell rapidly across all sites. As a result of the dry conditions and falling water levels many spawn clumps were either transferred to Durrell as part of the head-starting and dietary investigation program* or had to be moved in situ to deeper water and subjected to netting and bagging.

Whilst studies conducted in 2009 (Jameson.A.) demonstrated no significant effects on emergent populations by such disturbance there may well be un-quantified knock-on effects on this years in situ population from such rapidly falling water levels in terms of habitat conditions and available food sources.

 It may be too early to make a connection between changes in climate and a seasonal shift in weather conditions. However if the last two consecutive dry springs become a more prolonged and enhanced feature of our weather then it may seriously threaten the development of tadpoles to full term and the recently improving status of the agile frog in Jersey.

As in 2010 the abundance and distribution in the sightings of agile frogs and spawn clumps across sites continues to be encouraging. This observation is particularly pronounced at Ouaisne and makes it all the more important to identify and mitigate against threats to the sites from surrounding development, pollution, changing land use and infection.  A significant development this year was the discovery of a single spawn clump at Woodbine Corner. Often cited as a potential breeding site by virtue of it’s connectivity to Ouaisne, there have been difficulties in the past with providing suitable habitat and ensuring appropriate water quality. Both issues are being addressed and head-started adults have been released on site over the last few seasons.

These management activities continue on all sites targeting both species specific objectives (not just the agile frog) and habitat condition objectives. This may well be the catalyst for increasing distribution of the agile frog on sites. The ongoing objective is now to expand the range to other satellite sites and look to establishing (if possible) some degree of connectivity between them. As discussed earlier Woodbine Corner has been identified as a potential long-term site. In addition a pond constructed in 2009 at Les Creux is also a potential site. Regular water testing and management works are already in progress and with amphibians present on both sites (including agile frogs at Woodbine Corner) these areas will remain a focus of the Program.

Members of Jersey’s Toadwatch Campaign are making their annual call for the public to be vigilant as the breeding season for the Island’s not-so common toad Bufo bufo begins.

Over the next few months, the Toadwatch Campaign is once again asking members of the public to send in records and reports of toad, tadpole and toad spawn sightings in and around their gardens and ponds.

Importantly, the campaign is also aiming to identify those ponds that no longer contain any signs of toads. By studying ponds over a period of time, vital information can be gained on the distribution and movement of amphibians in Jersey.

The States of Jersey Environment Department, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Jersey Amphibian & Reptile Group (JARG) have collaborated for a number of years towards the conservation of Jersey’s only toad. The Toadwatch Campaign has been running for the past six years and Islanders’ records have helped build an accurate picture of where the toads are breeding.

The ‘Toads on Roads’ Campaign will also be running again this year. Last year well over 100 toads were saved from the busy roads at two Island sites, one in St Ouen and the other in Grands Vaux. This year it is hoped to broaden the scope of the teams’ efforts to cover more wet and mild nights and to man additional crossing black spots. Toads on Roads is essentially a road-crossing patrol or ‘lollipop men/women’ service for toads! One of the biggest concerns for the group is the loss of so many toads on island roads, many of them females, as they migrate to their breeding ponds. Simply by helping them across the most dangerous black spots, the Toads on Roads Campaign could potentially save hundreds of breeding adults.

As toad breeding season is well under way, anyone interested in volunteering for night-time lollipop duty is being asked to contact Toadwatch as soon as possible on 860053 . Islanders who live near lanes which are used by toads are also being asked to speak to Transport and Technical Services Department for permission to erect warning signs making road users aware of the toads.

Any information about toad sightings, ponds with toads or ponds that were previously used as spawning sites but have now become dormant, can be sent to toadwatch@durrell.org or left as a detailed message on the Toadwatch line 860053