American Toads have recently moved into the pond for their
annual breeding event. I’ve seen a total
of four toads; three singing males and one female. It’s not a great turnout, but it beats last
year’s total of zero. These two males
were in the center of the pond, requiring a long lens and flash in order to
capture an image. Animals with
reflective eyes just aren’t good subjects for flash photography.
Frequent rains have kept plenty of water in the pond. The runoff water has brought in a load of nutrients
from the township road. The nutrients,
along with uncommonly warm weather, have triggered an excessive growth of
filamentous algae. The algae pads have
allowed the male toads to perform their courtship songs far from shore.
The algae growth actually benefits developing frog
tadpoles. The tadpoles feed heavily on
the algae, and the algae makes it more difficult for predatory salamander
larvae to stalk and capture the tadpoles.
Long, black strands of eggs are the result of the toad’s
breeding activities.
Here is the couple responsible for all of those eggs. The male hangs onto the female’s back and
fertilizes the eggs as they are released.
The female determines where they eggs will be placed. She moves the couple around through the
vegetation, while the male just goes along for the ride.
I’m hoping that these eggs will be responsible for a mass of
small toads leaving the pond in a few months.
I saw young toads in abundance last year, but I never found the breeding
site. I’ll be taking a few of these eggs
and putting them into the pool I built specifically for breeding toads. If some toads actually hatch from that pool,
maybe a few will eventually return there to breed.
Thank you! I learn so much here I have to catch up...
ReplyDeleteHi, Renee. I'm glad you got caught up.
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