Movement behaviour of adult western toads in a fragmented, forest landscape

Abstract

Habitat loss and fragmentation are among the best documented explanations for the dramatic declines amphibians are experiencing globally. The western toad ( Anaxyrus boreas (Baird and Girard, 1852)) is an IUCN red-listed species whose distribution range has been significantly affected by habitat modification. We used radiotelemetry to follow daily, postbreeding movement patterns of 23 adult male toads in a fragmented landscape near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, composed of forest patches and small, recent clearcuts (~5 ha). Results showed that toads in forests oriented towards edges of clearcuts from at least as far as 150 m. Greater than 60% of toads released in forest patches chose to enter the clearcuts from adjacent forests, indicating high boundary permeability. Net displacement distance was not significantly reduced in these clearcuts; however, movement rates were significantly lower on clearcuts than in forest. This indicates that there is no structural impediment to movements; however, there still could be fitness consequences or an interaction with summer weather. Toads also used roads for their movement more frequently than at random relative to their area. These results suggest that the western toad’s movements may not be negatively affected by small-scale forest harvesting at our latitude during the spring.