ISLANDERS are being encouraged to ‘spawn spot’ as part of an ongoing project to determine the health of amphibian environments this Easter.
Pondwatch JE, an initiative that aims to gather sightings of Jersey’s pond life to assess their conservation status, has asked Islanders to spend 30 minutes looking for toads, frogs, and newt eggs in ponds.
Those on the lookout should then record what they have – or have not seen – in a ‘Level 1 Survey Form’, which can be found on the website jerseybiodiversitycentre.org.je.
Pondwatch is reminding anyone taking part to fill in the form, even if they have not seen any amphibian eggs after 30 minutes of looking, as that data is an important indication of the health of the environment.
There are three amphibian species in Jersey, and, where possible, Islanders should look for the differences in their spawn.
The first is the western toad, known locally as the ‘crapaud’, which lays spawn in long double strings. The eggs are black, circular shapes which form along the jelly-like protection. These can be harder to spot, because algae can grow over the eggs to camouflage them from predators. The eggs should not be disturbed or removed from ponds.
The second species is the agile frog, Jersey’s rarest amphibian. The females lay balls of spawn which are attached to sunken twigs. After near extinction for the species in the 1980s, these eggs now only appear in several ponds in the south-west of the Island, but a long-term recovery project has been helping the population to steadily increase. With agile frog eggs, Islanders should also watch out for falling water levels in their pond. They can help the eggs by filling it back up with rainwater. Sightings of ducks, which may find these eggs a tasty snack, should also be added to recording sheets.
The hardest to spot are the eggs from Jersey’s only newt species, the Palmate newt, which are folded individually in the leaves of pond plants to form a parcel.
If anyone does not have the time to carry out the survey, but would still like to take part, they can record sightings on the website as a ‘casual record’.
