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Unusual Behavior: A Fire-bellied Toad (Bombina bombina) Performs an Unkenreflex with its Intestines Expelled

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Adnan Zimić at National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina
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IRCFREPTILES&AMPHIBIANS•22(4):171–172•DEC2015
Unusual Behavior: A Fire-bellied Toad
(Bombina bombina) Performs an Unkenreflex
with its Intestines Expelled
Adnan Zimic´
HerpetologicalAssociationinBosniaandHercegovina(ATRA),Sarajevo,BosniaandHerzegovina
(adnan.zimic@gmail.com)
Photographsbytheauthor.
171
IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • VOL15, NO 4 • DEC 2008 189TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FEATURE ARTICLES
Chasing Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin:
On the Road to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...................... Joshua M. Kapfer 190
The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans on Grenada:
A Hypothetical Excursion ............................................................................................................................Robert W. Henderson 198
RESEARCH ARTICLES
The Texas Horned Lizard in Central and Western Texas ....................... Emily Henry, Jason Brewer, Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204
The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in Florida
.............................................Brian J. Camposano, Kenneth L. Krysko, Kevin M. Enge, Ellen M. Donlan, and Michael Granatosky 212
CONSERVATION ALERT
World’s Mammals in Crisis ............................................................................................................................................................. 220
More Than Mammals ...................................................................................................................................................................... 223
The “Dow Jones Index” of Biodiversity ........................................................................................................................................... 225
HUSBANDRY
Captive Care of the Central Netted Dragon ....................................................................................................... Shannon Plummer 226
PROFILE
Kraig Adler: A Lifetime Promoting Herpetology ................................................................................................ Michael L. Treglia 234
COMMENTARY
The Turtles Have Been Watching Me ........................................................................................................................ Eric Gangloff 238
BOOK REVIEW
Threatened Amphibians of the World edited by S.N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox,
R. Berridge, P. Ramani, and B.E. Young .............................................................................................................. Robert Powell 243
CONSERVATION RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Conservation Research Reports ................................. 245
NATURAL HISTORY RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History ................................. 247
NEWBRIEFS ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 248
EDITORIAL INFORMATION ..................................................................................................................................................... 251
FOCUS ON CONSERVATION: A Project You Can Support ............................................................................................... 252
Front Cover. Shannon Plummer.
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Back Cover. Michael Kern
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IRCF
REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS
CONSERVATION AND NATURAL HISTORY
Copyright©2015.AdnanZimic´.Allrightsreserved.
WWW.IRCF.ORG/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSJOURNAL
Increased amphibian road mortality and how it dramati-
cally affects population abundance has become an increas-
inglyimportanttopicintheconservationofamphibians(e.g.,
VogelandPuky1995;TrombulakandFrissell2000;Seiler
2001;Santos2007;Wojdan2010). Amphibianscrossing
roadsaresubjecttoaccidentalaswellasintentionaltraffic-
relateddeaths.Manyarekilledduringspringmigrationsas
they move toward wetlands to breed and during autumn
migrationswhilemovingtohibernationsites(e.g.,Wojdan
2010).Additionally,manyotherwiseaquaticfrogsandtoads
move considerable distances on land at night foraging for food
orinsearchofotheraquatichabitats.Nocturnalbehaviorisa
consequenceofincreasedhumidityatnight(AmphibiaWeb
2015)andincreasestheprobabilityofavoidingsomemajor
predators,likebirds(e.g.,Jovanovic´etal.2011).
Allamphibiansarevulnerableonroads,especiallythose
thatare:(1) Slow-moving,(2)small insize,and (3)not
inclinedtomoveinastraightline(Jochimsenetal.2004).
An example of an amphibian that meets all three of these
criteriaistheEuropeanFire-belliedToad(Bombina bom-
bina[Linnaeus1761]),anaquatic,small,andslow-moving
toadthatsometimesmovesonlandatnight(AmphibiaWeb
2015).Althoughthesecharacteristicsdonotseemparticularly
adaptive,thisspecieshasdevelopeddefensesagainstterrestrial
predatorsthatincludeimmobility(alongwithcrypticcolor-
ation),escape,inflatingthebody,aposematiccoloration,and
theproductionoftoxins(Bajger1980).
DuringfieldsurveysonthenorthernplainsofBosnia
andHerzegovina(BosnianPosavina,Domaljevac;45°01’N,
18°33’E;82masl)on26May2015(2200h),whileobserv-
ingincreasednocturnalactivityonland(81%humidityand
26°C airtemperature) ina largepopulation ofBombina
bombina,Inoticedonemaleonthebrokenstonepavement
(macadam)inthedefensive postureknownasanunkenreflex,
Fig. 1. Road-killed male Bombina bombina infullunkenreflexposition:(a)Leftlateralviewshowingtheexpelledpartoftheurogenitaltract(1.fatbodies);
(b)rightlateralviewshowingexpelledportionsofthedigesiveandurogenitaltracts(1.someremainsoffatbodies;2.stomachandcolon).
172
during which the body is contorted to reveal aposematic col-
orationontheventer.Itdidnotreacttomypresenceandwas
coveredindustandsandfromthemacadam.Closerobserva-
tionrevealedexpelledportionsofitsurogenital(Fig.1a,b)
anddigestivetracts(Fig.1b).Althoughitinitiallyappeared
tobedead,buccalpumpingindicatedthatthetoadwasstill
alive.So,despitehavingbeenrunoverbyacar,itwasengag-
ingindefensivebehavior.Afteritwasmanipulatedtoanor-
malposture,thetoadagainresumedtheunkenreflex.This
behaviorwasobservedfor20min,suggestingthattheindi-
vidual remained in this pose until it died or was killed and
eatenbyapredator.Otherindividualsobservedthatnight(N
=16)didnotemploytheunkenreflexbutusedescape(70%)
orimmobility(30%)instead.
Literature Cited
AmphibiaWeb.2015. Information on amphibianbiologyand conservation.
AmphibiaWeb,Berkeley,California.<http://amphibiaweb.org/>.
Bajger,J. 1980. Diversityofdefensiveresponsesinpopulations of FireToads
(Bombina bombina and Bombina variegata).Herpetologica36:133–137.
Jochimsen,D.M., C.R.Peterson,K.M.Andrews,and J.W. Gibbons.2004.A
Literature Review of the Effects of Roads on Amphibians and Reptiles and the
Measures Used to Minimize Those Effects.IdahoFishandGameDepartment,
Boise,andUSDAForestService,Washington,DC.
Jovanovic´,O.,G.Šafarek,andM.Samadržic´.2011.AfieldobservationofCommon
BuzzardpredatingonCommonToad.Hyla 2011:37–38.
Santos,X.,G.A.Llorente,A.Montori,M.A.Carretero,M.Franch,N.Garriga,
andA.Richter-Boix.2007.Evaluatingfactorsaffectingamphibianmortality
onroads:ThecaseoftheCommonToadBufo bufo,nearabreedingplace.
Animal Biodiversity and Conservation.30:97–104.
Seiler,A.2011.Ecological Effects of Roads. A Review.Introductoryresearchessay,
DepartmentofConservationBiology,Swedish UniversityofAgricultural
Sciences,Uppsala.
Trombulak,S.C.andC.A.Frissell.2000.Reviewofecologicaleffectsofroadson
terrestrialandaquaticcommunities.Conservation Biology14:18–30.
Vogel,Z.andM.Puky.1995.Afast environmentalassessmentmethodforthe
evaluationofroadconstuctioneffectsonamphibiancommunities.Scientia
Herpetologica 1995:349–351.
Wojdan,D.2010.Impactofvehicletrafficonamphibianmigrationsinthepro-
tectionzone oftheS
´wietokrzyskiNationalPark.Teka Komisji Ochrony i
Kształtowania S
´rodowiska Przyrodniczego7:466–472.
IRCFREPTILES&AMPHIBIANS•22(4):171–172•DEC2015ZIMIC
´
... Međutim, interesi prema drugim životinjskim skupinama autora S. Lelu su držali daleko od objedinjavanja vlastitih herpetoloških podataka sa postojećim literaturnim podacima i aktuelnim biosistematskim spoznajama pripadajućih skupina (Lelo, 2005(Lelo, -2011. Međutim, kako su autori radili i na ovim problemima (Lelo, 2003(Lelo, , 2005(Lelo, , 20072010-2009Lelo i Kotrošan, 2005;Lelo i Jusić, 2010;Lelo i Lukić-Bilela, 2010;Lelo i Vesnić, 2011;Lelo i sar., 2003Lelo i sar., , 2008Lelo i sar., , 2011Lelo i sar., , 2015Lelo i sar., , 2017Jelić i Lelo, 2009, 2010Jelić i sar., 2010;Šunje i Lelo, 2008Šunje i Lelo, , 2010Tomović i sar., 2005Tomović i sar., -20062007-2009Vukov i sar., 2006;ŽujoZekić i sar., 2010;Mitrović i sar., 2012;Neimarlija i sar., 2013Neimarlija i sar., , 2014Zimić, 2013Zimić, , 2014aZimić, , 2014bZimić, , 2015aZimić, , 2015bZimić, , 2015cZimić, , 2015dZimić, , 2016aZimić, , 2016bZimić, , 2016cZimić, , 2016dZimić i Čengić, 2014;Zimić i Jelić, 2014;Zimić i sar., 2013;2015, 2018a, 2018, 2020a, 2020bZimić i Zgonjanin, 2017;Šunje i sar., 2014;Simović i sar., 2014;Ćurić i Zimić, 2015;Herrero i Zimić, 2015;Zimić i Šunje, 2016;Zimić i Klisura, 2016;Vrhovac i sar., 2015;Ćurić i sar., 2015a, 2015bBašić i Zimić, 2017;Anić i sar., 2017;Rondić i sar., 2017), tako da je postojala objektivna šansa da se podaci o bosanskohercegovačkoj herpetologiji u dogledno vrijeme i urede. Prilika (i obaveza) se ukazala od školske 2009/2010. ...
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Review of Ecological Effects of Roads on Terrestrial and Aquatic Communities
Article
Full-text available
Roads are a widespread and increasing feature of most landscapes. We reviewed the scientific literature on the ecological effects of roads and found support for the general conclusion that they are associated with negative effects on biotic integrity in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Roads of all kinds have seven general effects: mortality from road construction, mortality from collision with vehicles, modification of animal behavior, alteration of the physical environment, alteration of the chemical environment, spread of exotics, and increased use of areas by humans. Road construction kills sessile and slow-moving organisms, injures organisms adjacent to a road, and alters physical conditions beneath a road. Vehicle collisions affect the demography of many species, both vertebrates and invertebrates; mitigation measures to reduce roadkill have been only partly successful. Roads alter animal behavior by causing changes in home ranges, movement, reproductive success, escape response, and physiological state. Roads change soil density, temperature, soil water content, light levels, dust, surface waters, patterns of runoff, and sedimentation, as well as adding heavy metals (especially lead), salts, organic molecules, ozone, and nutrients to roadside environments. Roads promote the dispersal of exotic species by altering habitats, stressing native species, and providing movement corridors. Roads also promote increased hunting, fishing, passive harassment of animals, and landscape modifications. Not all species and ecosystems are equally affected by roads, but overall the presence of roads is highly correlated with changes in species composition, population sizes, and hydrologic and geomorphic processes that shape aquatic and riparian systems. More experimental research is needed to complement post-hoc correlative studies. Our review underscores the importance to conservation of avoiding construction of new roads in roadless or sparsely roaded areas and of removal or restoration of existing roads to benefit both terrestrial and aquatic biota. Resumen: Las carreteras son una característica predominante y en incremento de la mayoría de los paisajes. Revisamos la literatura científica sobre los efectos ecológicos de las carreteras y encontramos sustento para la conclusión general de que las carreteras están asociadas con efectos negativos en la integridad biótica tanto de ecosistemas terrestres como acuáticos. Las carreteras de cualquier tipo ocasionan siete efectos generales: mortalidad ocasionada por la construcción de la carretera; mortalidad debida a la colisión con vehículos; modificaciones en la conducta animal; alteración del ambiente físico; alteración del ambiente químico; dispersión de especies exóticas e incremento en el uso de áreas por humanos. La construcción de carreteras elimina a organismos sésiles y a organismos de lento movimiento, lesiona a organismos adyacentes a la carretera y altera las condiciones físicas debajo ella misma. Las colisiones con vehículos afectan la demografía de muchas especies tanto de vertebrados como invertebrados; las medidas de mitigación para reducir la pérdida de animales por colisiones con vehículos han sido exitosas solo de manera parcial. Las carreteras alteran la conducta animal al ocasionar cambios en el rango de hogar, movimientos, éxito reproductivo, respuesta de escape y estado fisiológico. Las carreteras cambian la densidad del suelo, temperatura, contenido de agua en el suelo, niveles de luz, polvo, aguas superficiales, patrones de escurrimiento y sedimentación, además de agregar metales pesados (especialmente plomo), sales, moléculas orgánicas, ozono y mutrientes a los ambientes que atraviesan. Las carreteras promueven la dispersión de especies exóticas al alterar los hábitats, al estresar a las especies nativas y proveer corredores para movimiento. Las carreteras también promueven el incremento de la caza y la pesca, el hostigamiento pasivo de animales y modificaciones del paisaje. No todas las especies ni todos los ecosistemas son afectados por las carreteras de igual forma, pero en general la presencia de carreteras está altamente correlacionada con cambios en la composición de especies, los tamaños poblacionales y los procesos hidrológicos y geomorfológicos que afectan a la estructura de sistemas acuáticos y reparios. Se necesita más investigación experimental para complementar estudios correlativos post-hoc. Nuestra revisión hace énfasis en que en trabajos de conservación es importante evitar la construcción de nuevas carreteras en áreas carentes de ellas o en áreas con pocas carreteras, además de remover o restaurar carreteras existentes con la finalidad de beneficiar tanto a la biota acuática como la terrestre.
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Evaluating factors affecting amphibian mortality on roads: The case of the Common Toad Bufo bufo, near a breeding place
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2007
The Common Toad Bufo bufo is the amphibian with the highest rates of road mortality in many European countries. This elevated incidence of road kills has frequently been associated with migration to breeding sites. In this study, we analysed the mortality of the Common Toad in the road network in Catalonia (NE Spain), and investigated the related causative factors on four roads near a breeding site in the Pyrenees. Results suggest that the high mortality rate is due to a combination of factors: toad abundance, traffic density and quality of water bodies for breeding. On the road with the highest incidence of road kills we investigated whether deaths occurred at specific spots or in a random manner. The road was divided into 500 m sections and each section was classified according to biotic (type of vegetation) and abiotic (presence of streams, roadside topography) variables. Multiple correspondence analysis showed that sections with streams crossing under the road had the highest mortality rate, suggesting that such water bodies flowing into the breeding pond are the toads' main migratory pathways for hibernation and breeding. As toads use the same migratory routes each year, it is critical to identity areas with a high potential mortality so that efficient measures can be designed to increase wildlife permeability, and thereby reduce habitat fragmentation. This methodology could be applied in other areas with high amphibian mortality.
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Information on amphibian biology and conservation
  • Jan 2015
  • Amphibiaweb
AmphibiaWeb. 2015. Information on amphibian biology and conservation. AmphibiaWeb, Berkeley, California. <http://amphibiaweb.org/>.
Ecological Effects of Roads. A Review. Introductory research essay, Department of Conservation Biology
  • Jan 2011
  • A Seiler
Seiler, A. 2011. Ecological Effects of Roads. A Review. Introductory research essay, Department of Conservation Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala.
A fast environmental assessment method for the evaluation of road constuction effects on amphibian communities
  • Jan 1995
  • 349-351
  • Z Vogel
  • M Puky
Vogel, Z. and M. Puky. 1995. A fast environmental assessment method for the evaluation of road constuction effects on amphibian communities. Scientia Herpetologica 1995:349-351.
Impact of vehicle traffic on amphibian migrations in the protection zone of the Świetokrzyski National Park
  • Jan 2010
  • 466-472
  • D Wojdan
Wojdan, D. 2010. Impact of vehicle traffic on amphibian migrations in the protection zone of the Świetokrzyski National Park. Teka Komisji Ochrony i Kształtowania Środowiska Przyrodniczego 7:466-472.