Amphibian Comeback? Cautiously Positive First Signs
Through the species monitoring programme (meetnetten.be), INBO and the Agency for Nature and Forests aim to collect reliable information about priority species in Flanders. This includes eight amphibian species. In addition to the fire salamander – a Flemish priority species – these include seven European protected species:
- tree frog
- moor frog
- crested newt
- common spadefoot toad
- pool frog
- natterjack toad
- midwife toad
The species monitoring programme relies heavily on citizen science. Most of the counts are carried out by volunteers coordinated by the NGO Natuurpunt Studie. The volunteers use a protocol developed by INBO to estimate the relative numbers for each monitoring site. In the period 2016-2024, we see:
- a strong increase in midwife toad, fire salamander and natterjack toad. The increase in midwife toad can largely be explained by the release of bred animals as part of the species protection programme. Further monitoring is needed to determine whether this increase is sustainable. The natterjack toad is a pioneer species that naturally exhibits strong fluctuations. For the time being, we are seeing a strong increase, but a longer time series is needed to gain a better understanding of the trend.
- an increase in tree frogs
- no clear trend for crested newts and common spadefoots. Common spadefoots only occurs in a few places in Flanders, and its conservation status remains very unfavourable. In the coming years, targeted monitoring will reveal if the release of captive‐bred individuals is succesfull.
Moor frogs and pool frogs are difficult to count, so we need to further refine the monitoring protocol. Only then will we be able to report trends.
Toon Westra, Jeroen Speybroeck, Sam Van de Poel, Loïc van Doorn, Thierry Onkelinx
Image above: Counting tree frog larvae (photo: Hannes Ledegen)