The onset of the warmer weather in February brings the start
of the amphibian breeding season and the welcome appearance of frog and toad spawn
in Britain’s ponds. We spotted the first frog spawn in our ponds at Parc Slip this year on the 4th February.
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| The Parc Slip Frogspawn! |
If you are lucky enough to have spawn in your pond, we have
a number of pointers for you to help you look after your amphibians.
Firstly, you can work out what species you have; frog spawn
is laid in obvious jelly-like clumps, like in the photo above, whereas toad spawn is laid in long chains
which are often more difficult to see. Report your sightings to your local
records centre- knowing where the animals are can help with their conservation. The local records centre in the South Wales area is SEWBReC.
If your pond looks like it’s over flowing with spawn, do not
worry, there’s no such thing as too much frog spawn! It’s a harsh world out there;
it’s thought that only one in 50 eggs laid will survive to adulthood, so you
won’t ever be over run with frogs!
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| Frog with spawn in our Conservation Managers garden last year |
The crucial thing to note is that it is very important that
you do not move spawn between ponds. Unfortunately, there are a number of amphibian
diseases in the UK, such as Ranavirus and Chytrid fungus that can decimate
amphibian populations and lead to local population declines.
Movement of frogspawn from pond to pond can spread these diseases
and invasive plants to new areas. Unfortunately, this has been the case at Parc
Slip, with a pond being completely over run with Crassula. This is probably as a result of movement of materials
into the pond from another infected pond. Please help us to prevent further
invasions and do not transfer materials into the ponds. And start spreading the word to stop the swap of spawn!
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| Crassula helmsii in our infected pond |
Have you seen any frogspawn yet?
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