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Why link diverse citizen science surveys? Widespread arboreal habits of a terrestrial amphibian revealed by mammalian tree surveys in Britain

View ORCID ProfileSilviu Petrovan, Nida Al-Fulaij, View ORCID ProfileAlec Christie, Henry Andrews
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.27.482211
Silviu Petrovan
1 University of Cambridge;
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  • For correspondence: sop21@cam.ac.uk
Nida Al-Fulaij
2 People's Trust for Endangered Species;
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Alec Christie
3 University of Cambridge Downing College;
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Henry Andrews
4 Bat Tree Habitat Key
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Abstract

Terrestrial anurans, with their typically short limbs, heavy-set bodies and absent claws or toe pads are incongruous tree climbers, but even occasional arboreal locomotion could offer substantial advantages for evading predators or accessing new shelter or food resources. Despite recent interest, arboreal behaviour remains rarely and unsystematically described for terrestrial amphibians in Europe, likely due to fundamental differences in survey methods and therefore a lack of field data. However, other taxa surveys specifically target trees and tree cavities. We undertook collaborations and large-scale data searches with citizen science projects surveying for arboreal mammals in Britain to investigate potential tree climbing by amphibians at a national scale. Remarkably, we found widespread arboreal usage by amphibians in England and Wales, with occupancy of hazel dormouse ( Muscardinus avellenarius ) nest boxes, tree cavities investigated as potential bat roosts and even a bird nest by common toads ( Bufo bufo ), but few additional records of frogs or newts. Toads are potentially attracted to tree cavities and arboreal nests because they provide safe and damp microenvironments which can support an abundance of invertebrate prey but the importance of such tree microhabitats for toad conservation remains unknown. Possible interactions with arboreal mammals are also unclear, but such mammals and even some birds may benefit from the occasional presence of toads if they feed on the mites and other arthropods that frequently infest their nests. We encourage expanding and linking of unrelated monitoring surveys and citizen science initiatives as valuable tools for investigating ecological traits and interactions.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.
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Posted February 28, 2022.
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Why link diverse citizen science surveys? Widespread arboreal habits of a terrestrial amphibian revealed by mammalian tree surveys in Britain
Silviu Petrovan, Nida Al-Fulaij, Alec Christie, Henry Andrews
bioRxiv 2022.02.27.482211; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.27.482211
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Why link diverse citizen science surveys? Widespread arboreal habits of a terrestrial amphibian revealed by mammalian tree surveys in Britain
Silviu Petrovan, Nida Al-Fulaij, Alec Christie, Henry Andrews
bioRxiv 2022.02.27.482211; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.27.482211

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