Early amphibian colonizers of man-made mini-ponds: first results of a citizen science experiment

By

Siebert, Janette
Burgstaller, Stephan
Kornilev, Yurii
Krall, Maria M.
Hamernik, David
Kremser, Janis
Loupal, Anna
Spießberger, Magdalena
Zaller, Johann G.
Schweiger, Silke
Graf, Wolfram
Dörler, Daniel
Heigl, Florian
Landler, Lukas

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2025-9-10

Original Publication

Herpetozoa

Volume

38

Pages

231--240

Subjects

Anura , breeding sites , Citizen science , Frogs , Newts , succession , Toads , Urodela

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/herpetozoa.38.e153679

 

Abstract

The loss of suitable spawning habitats is a global threat to amphibians. Thus, establishing man-made ponds may serve as a successful conservation practice to counteract this threat. In this experiment, we used a citizen science (CS) approach to create mini-ponds in private gardens and asked participants to monitor amphibian activity. We provided 302 polyethylene mini-ponds (120 L × 90 W × 40 D cm) to citizen scientists across the range of the target species, the European green toad (Bufotes viridis), in Austria. In the first year of the experiment (2024), B. viridis and 12 other amphibian taxa were recorded at 38% of the monitored sites. Signs of amphibian reproduction were detected in 10% of the mini-ponds. Bayesian occupancy models showed detection probabilities consistent with other studies. Over time, we expect more amphibians to discover the mini-ponds and more individuals to use them for reproduction. Our experiment demonstrates that the creation of relatively small ponds is a promising method for supporting and monitoring amphibian populations.