Over fifty common toads have been found in nest boxes and tree cavities at least 1.5 meters high by volunteers surveying dormice and bats.
Common toads were thought to be a different type of animal. The highest toad in the study was three meters up a tree.
This is the first time that a national study has been done on the climbing potential of trees.
During a survey to find hazel dormice and bats, a surprising discovery was made.
The research was done by the University of Cambridge. It is in a journal.
The senior researcher at the University of Cambridge and Trustee at Froglife was the first author of the study.
It appears that common toads' association with trees is more complicated than we had thought.
Common toads spend their time on land and in water during their breeding season. Common toads have only been seen in a small number of trees in the UK.
Common toads and UK salamanders have never been surveyed for in trees, unlike bat and dormouse surveys. The study shows that there is a lot to learn about wildlife in the UK even if you don't know much about it.
Nida Al-Fulaij said they couldn't believe what they saw. We're used to finding animals in nest boxes, but we hadn't considered finding animals in the Amphibians.
During surveys of hazel dormouse nest boxes, over 50 common toad were found.
It's not clear how toads find the small crevices or how difficult it is for toads to climb the trees.
The toads were not found in boxes or tree holes, but in old nest made by birds.
It is comparable to records of other animals that use trees frequently. It is suggested that toads spend more time in trees. It's possible that common toads could be found in up to one in every hundred trees in the UK if this is true.
The discovery suggests that there is more to the ecology than was previously thought. It shows the importance of protecting ancient trees with veteran features for all wildlife.
According to Froglife research, common toads have declined over the last 30 years.
There is no known reason why toads are climbing trees. Search for food, avoiding predator or evading parasites are some of the factors that could be considered.
Scientists will be able to better understand why toads climb trees, and how woodland management should take it into account.
More information: Silviu O. Petrovan et al, Why link diverse citizen science surveys? Widespread arboreal habits of a terrestrial amphibian revealed by mammalian tree surveys in Britain, PLOS ONE (2022). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265156Froglife is asking members of the public to record any spotted salamanders in trees on their dragon finder app or to contact them directly.
Journal information: PLoS ONE
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