Friday 7 August 2009

National stocktake: deadline looms…

The deadline for giving us your garden sightings of frogs, toads, newts, snakes and lizards is looming…

Earlier this year our national survey Reptiles and Amphibians in your Garden, in partnership with the BTO, brought together an army of amateur wildlife watchers including birdwatchers, gardeners, hands-on conservation volunteers and the general public.

There is still time to get involved! As the deadline looms, Amphibian and Reptile Conservation is urging those who received a survey pack to post their recording forms as soon as possible.

The results will contribute to knowledge of where frogs, toads, newts, snakes and lizards are found nationally and allow scientists a better insight to how important gardens are for their conservation. The results will also be used to understand how amphibian and reptile populations may be responding to a variety of threats, including habitat loss, disease and garden chemicals.

For more information – or to request a new pack email: enquiries@arc-trust.org

For more about Reptiles and Amphibians in your Garden visit: www.bto.org/gbw/herps/2009_survey

2 comments:

  1. We live in Sowerby Bridge, Halifax. We have enjoyed frogs, toads and newts in our garden up to this year. We are finding numerous dead frogs with bloated abdomens and darkened skin. The next door neighbour has started growing vegetables, I asked if he was using chemicals, he said only slug pellets. I haven't seen any newts this year, only the toads are still around. Any ideas?

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  2. Possibly you might be coming across something called ranavirus, a non-native frog disease that affects some frog populations in the summer.

    More information at: www.froglife.org/disease -(please fill in our online questionnaire and help us find out more about amphibian diseases!)

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