- Program Coordinator: Rachel Shephard
- This is a joint program in collaboration with BC Parks. Additional expertise is provided by PhD candidate Roseanna Gamlen-Greene.
- Volunteer Opportunities: Help with toad surveys at Fawn and Edith Lakes. Report incidental toad sightings, while walking the Four Lakes Trail.
Since 2019, the Squamish Environment Society has worked in collaboration with BC Parks to monitor Western Toads (Anaxyrus boreas) at Alice Lake Provincial Park. The three main objectives of the program are:
- Detect population trends at breeding sites and better understand the factors that affect breeding timing and success.
- Mitigate impacts on breeding adults and reduce toadlet mortality rates on trails.
- Increase public engagement and stewardship in support of Western Toad conservation.
Volunteers conduct surveys on foot and by kayak during the spring breeding season and monitor trails for migrating toadlets later in the summer.
Amphibian populations everywhere are declining due to loss of habitat and climate change and Western Toads are a federal Species of Concern. We hope that engaging local residents in community science will encourage stewardship and increase awareness of this species at risk and that information gathered can be used to inform future planning objectives for BC Parks.
To get involved, please email toads@squamishenvironment.ca
More About the Program
This multi-year program was initiated in 2019, to monitor Western Toad breeding, tadpole development and toadlet migration at Fawn and Edith Lakes. The surveys aim to record mating ‘hotspots’ and timing, numbers of breeding adults, egg mass locations and hatching success, toadlet migration routes and timing, and toadlet mortality rate and hotspots. Volunteers can sign up for surveys as their schedule permits. Incidental toad sightings from hikers on the Four Lakes Trail are also encouraged.
Western Toad populations are vulnerable throughout their breeding cycle. We hope that by better understanding how, where and when the breeding cycle occurs, that human impacts can be mitigated.
- Breeding adults congregate along shorelines where they are vulnerable to predators such as owls, racoons, and otters. Humans and dogs using shoreline trails can inadvertently trample toads or disrupt breeding activity.
- Tadpoles congregate in shallow water, where they may be disturbed or harmed by people and dogs wading through these areas. Sunscreen, insect repellent, and other personal care products can also be harmful to amphibians, which readily absorb toxins through their semi-permeable skin.
- As the toadlets emerge from the lakes, they must cross trails that are busy with bikes and hikers.
The program is modeled on other successful, collaborative programs, such as Kentucky-Alleyne, Ryder Lake, Lost Lake Whistler. Surveys conducted by SES volunteers on foot and by kayak, take place from early April through August. Guidance and logistic support is provided by BC Parks, with additional expertise offered by amphibian biologist Ms. Elke Wind (M.Sc., RPBio) . Financial support is provided by the BC Parks Enhancement Fund and private donations.
More About Western Toads
Western Toads use three different types of habitat: breeding habitats, terrestrial summer range, and winter hibernation sites. In spring, adult toads migrate from terrestrial areas to communal breeding sites in wetlands, ponds and lakes. Breeding often takes place over a period of less than two weeks. The smaller males clasp females from behind and fertilize the eggs as they are deposited. Male toads produce a quiet, twittering ‘release call’ if they are accidentally grasped by another male.
Once laid, the eggs quickly develop into tadpoles that hatch and swarm in groups of hundreds or thousands of individuals through the warmest, shallowest water available. By the end of the summer, the tadpoles transform into toadlets and leave the water. Dense aggregations of toadlets are often found hidden along the shore of breeding sites, and clustered in piles when the weather turns cool. At Alice Lake Provincial Park, toadlets migrate into the forest en masse and can be seen crossing the Four Lake Trails along ‘toad alley’ between Edith and Fawn Lakes. Male toadlets reach sexual maturity in 3-4 years, females in 4-6 years. Individuals may live for 10 years or more.
After breeding, adult Western Toads disperse into terrestrial habitats such as forests and grasslands and spend the summer and fall foraging in warm, low lying areas. Over the winter they hibernate in burrows below the frostline, up to 1.3 metres underground.
- Frogs and Toads of the South Coast ID Key
- Guide to Amphibians of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands
Photo by John Buchanan: Edith Lake toads in amplexus, April 10 2020.