Haida Gwaii Toad Community Monitoring
This is a volunteer-led initiative to monitor toads on Haida Gwaii. To learn more or get involved, keep reading! This project started in March 2022. To get involved with contributing toad observations to the project, click the "get involved" tab. To sign up to adopt a toad breeding site, or if you would like to contribute to the project in other ways (e.g. take a leadership role) or if you have any questions or comments, email [email protected]. This project is currently looking for a leading to take over coordinating the monitoring for 2023.
Educators, land managers, or interested people, please check out the "education" tab which has a lot of education resources to use in schools and while doing field work etc: "education" tab.
Educators, land managers, or interested people, please check out the "education" tab which has a lot of education resources to use in schools and while doing field work etc: "education" tab.
Observations collected to date
Click this link to view them. We are using iNaturalist to record and store the data. It is up to members of the public to submit their data. Anyone can download the data. Instructions in the "get involved" tab.
Aim |
To aid the conservation of toads on Haida Gwaii through long-term monitoring, and increase knowledge of toads among the local Haida Gwaii community through education.
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About the project
Toads (Hlk’yáan Ḵ’ust’áan in the X̱aad Kíl dialect of the Haida Nation language [source: X̱aad Kíl Née] and Hlk'yan ḵ'uust'an, in X̱aayda Kil [SHIP X̱aayda Kil Glossary 2015] , English name: Western toad; latin name: Anaxyrus boreas) are the only indigenous amphibian on Haida Gwaii. The toad is important to the Haida Nation and is a species of “Special Concern” federally. Many local people on Haida Gwaii intrinsically value the toad.
Toads are loyal to their breeding sites and come back to breed at the same site every spring. Their breeding sites are up to 30km apart. Toad populations are being monitored in Gwaii Haanas (annually), where they are protected, but nowhere else on Haida Gwaii. As of 2021, there are only 10 known toad breeding sites on Graham Island. In 2021, there is only one known toad breeding site on Moresby Island, outside of Gwaii Haanas. A number of these sites are unprotected. There are undoubtedly more sites, but they have not been located yet. Prior to 2017, the exact location of all toad breeding sites on Graham Island was unknown in official records.
There have been anecdotal reports of toad declines over the last few decades by local people, such as in Old Massett (where people used to see toads, and now there are no toads anymore). But due to the lack of monitoring, it is unknown which populations those toads came from, why they disappeared, or if more toad populations are declining. Populations naturally fluctuate, so to detect any quantifiable trends in population numbers, that could be cause for concern, monitoring needs to have been going for 5-10 years. That is why we want to set up long-term monitoring of toads outside of Gwaii Haanas. The best way to monitor toad populations is by counting the number of adults during the 1-2 week breeding period every spring. Adult mortality is the largest threat to toad populations, so if the number of adults decline over several years, then that could be a cause for concern.
The exact timing of toad breeding every year is currently impossible to predict (as we do not fully understand what controls the timing), but on Graham Island, it has generally occurred between May 5th – 15th since Roseanna Gamlen-Greene began keeping records in 2017. Continuing to monitor the timing of egg laying in subsequent years is important to gain better understanding of population trends.
Both native and invasive predators eat toads. They usually skin the toads, to avoid the bufo toxin. Evidence of predation of adult toads has been observed at many toad breeding sites on Haida Gwaii. Invasive raccoons are thought to be a large threat to toads on Haida Gwaii. There is one lake in Gwaii Haanas informally known as “Dead Toad Lake” because of the large number of toad skins that invasive racoons left (T Reimchen, pers comm). A number of toad skins were observed on the shores of Mayer Lake in 2021 (a toad breeding site). Hence in 2023 we set up cameras to monitor predation of toads during the toad breeding season. We found many adult dead toads (over 35 at one site), many of which were pregnant females, and raccoons were caught on camera the night before the dead toads were found.
Other things could be monitored in subsequent years, as the community desires, such as: tracking how tadpoles are doing over the summer, and tracking when the toadlets emerge, and what direction they travel (to help minimize them being run over by cars). Roads are a large threat to toads in other parts of BC. Also, large predation events and any signs of disease could be monitored. Though chytrid fungus - a disease threatening toads in other parts of BC - has not yet been detected on Haida Gwaii, it would be useful to monitor for it.
The project has the potential for building on additional research questions as success grows. In the long run, the questions are intended to be led by the community of Haida Gwaii, rather than external researchers.
Asides from monitoring the toads with this community initiative, the toads would benefit greatly from having their breeding sites protected from natural and human threats (e.g. land development). Roseanna Gamlen-Greene's genetic results indicate that the toads on Haida Gwaii are much less genetically diverse than their relatives in southwestern BC. This lack of genetic diversity could mean that Haida Gwaii toads may not be able to deal with/adapt to threats (such as invasive raccoons) and some environmental changes very well.
Toads are loyal to their breeding sites and come back to breed at the same site every spring. Their breeding sites are up to 30km apart. Toad populations are being monitored in Gwaii Haanas (annually), where they are protected, but nowhere else on Haida Gwaii. As of 2021, there are only 10 known toad breeding sites on Graham Island. In 2021, there is only one known toad breeding site on Moresby Island, outside of Gwaii Haanas. A number of these sites are unprotected. There are undoubtedly more sites, but they have not been located yet. Prior to 2017, the exact location of all toad breeding sites on Graham Island was unknown in official records.
There have been anecdotal reports of toad declines over the last few decades by local people, such as in Old Massett (where people used to see toads, and now there are no toads anymore). But due to the lack of monitoring, it is unknown which populations those toads came from, why they disappeared, or if more toad populations are declining. Populations naturally fluctuate, so to detect any quantifiable trends in population numbers, that could be cause for concern, monitoring needs to have been going for 5-10 years. That is why we want to set up long-term monitoring of toads outside of Gwaii Haanas. The best way to monitor toad populations is by counting the number of adults during the 1-2 week breeding period every spring. Adult mortality is the largest threat to toad populations, so if the number of adults decline over several years, then that could be a cause for concern.
The exact timing of toad breeding every year is currently impossible to predict (as we do not fully understand what controls the timing), but on Graham Island, it has generally occurred between May 5th – 15th since Roseanna Gamlen-Greene began keeping records in 2017. Continuing to monitor the timing of egg laying in subsequent years is important to gain better understanding of population trends.
Both native and invasive predators eat toads. They usually skin the toads, to avoid the bufo toxin. Evidence of predation of adult toads has been observed at many toad breeding sites on Haida Gwaii. Invasive raccoons are thought to be a large threat to toads on Haida Gwaii. There is one lake in Gwaii Haanas informally known as “Dead Toad Lake” because of the large number of toad skins that invasive racoons left (T Reimchen, pers comm). A number of toad skins were observed on the shores of Mayer Lake in 2021 (a toad breeding site). Hence in 2023 we set up cameras to monitor predation of toads during the toad breeding season. We found many adult dead toads (over 35 at one site), many of which were pregnant females, and raccoons were caught on camera the night before the dead toads were found.
Other things could be monitored in subsequent years, as the community desires, such as: tracking how tadpoles are doing over the summer, and tracking when the toadlets emerge, and what direction they travel (to help minimize them being run over by cars). Roads are a large threat to toads in other parts of BC. Also, large predation events and any signs of disease could be monitored. Though chytrid fungus - a disease threatening toads in other parts of BC - has not yet been detected on Haida Gwaii, it would be useful to monitor for it.
The project has the potential for building on additional research questions as success grows. In the long run, the questions are intended to be led by the community of Haida Gwaii, rather than external researchers.
Asides from monitoring the toads with this community initiative, the toads would benefit greatly from having their breeding sites protected from natural and human threats (e.g. land development). Roseanna Gamlen-Greene's genetic results indicate that the toads on Haida Gwaii are much less genetically diverse than their relatives in southwestern BC. This lack of genetic diversity could mean that Haida Gwaii toads may not be able to deal with/adapt to threats (such as invasive raccoons) and some environmental changes very well.
People
Roseanna Gamlen-Greene (expert on western science of Western Toads, PhD UBC, National Geographic Explorer) led the community monitoring project in 2022, but Roseanna hopes the community will drive the project in the future. Roseanna comes from Te Tai Poutini (West Coast of the South Island), Aotearoa (New Zealand), her tipuna (ancestors) come from the Waikato (Aotearoa), and Ireland, Scotland and England. Beginning in 2017, Roseanna’s PhD research specialized in the ecology of amphibians on Haida Gwaii. She lived in Masset for 5 months in 2017 and has returned a number of times. Roseanna has run a number of community toad events on Haida Gwaii in 2017, 2018 and 2019. She has showed local people where toad breeding sites are, taught people about toad ecology, visited classes in Chief Matthews School, Tahayghen Elementary school and Gudangaay Tlaats'gaa Naay Secondary School. Her local outreach has mainly been in northern Graham Island. Roseanna gave two public talks in 2019 as part of the Gwaii Haanas Speaker Series. She has also worked with Gwaii Haanas staff - inside Gwaii Haanas doing research there in 2019, and doing on toad monitoring outside of Gwaii Haanas. Roseanna has also been a science advisor for the Squamish Environment Society toad monitoring program from 2019-2022.
Supporters
This project is generously funded by the Public Scholar Initiative at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and The Willow Grove Foundation! Thank you!