Boreal toad
The boreal toad is the nominate subspecies of the western toad. They are commonly found in the western U.S. and western Canada. Boreal toad populations have declined recently due to an emerging amphibian disease, chytrid fungus. The boreal toad is currently listed as an endangered species by Colorado and New Mexico. It is known in Colorado as the only alpine species of toad.
Appearance
Boreal toads lack a cranial crest, and can be distinguished from the other western toad subspecies, the California toad, by looking at its underbelly, which is covered by a considerable amount of dark blotches. Adult males on average are between 2.4–3.1 inches and females are 2.9–3.9 inches Their coloration can range from brown to green and they have a distinct white mid-dorsal stripe. Both sexes have dry, warty skin and oval parotoid glands. Male boreal toads have no vocal sac and therefore have no mating call.Habitat and distribution
The boreal toad is currently found in Northern New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, Alberta, and Southeast Alaska. It prefers high-altitude wet habitats such as lakes, marshes, ponds, bogs, and quiet shallow waterHabitat selection for western toads is important because they require open water for breeding, and they can die if they are too exposed to seawater.
Diet
Being omnivorous, boreal toads feed on a wide variety of insects and other invertebrates as well as aquatic and non-aquatic plants. Their diet includes grasshoppers, beetles, flies, detritus, algae, and mosquitos.Reproduction
The breeding season is usually from May to late July and occurs in marshes and still waters. Females lay on average about 3,000 to 8,000 eggs. The tadpoles take around two months to develop and are usually black. Survival of tadpoles to metamorphosis is higher in aquatic environments with high trout presence, low chytrid fungus presence, and in non-permanent spawning pools. Trout presence decreases predation by aquatic insects, lower chytrid fungus concentrations help tadpoles through their most vulnerable life-stage, and ephemeral spawning pools are warmer, leading to faster and larger tadpole growth.Chytrid fungus
The chytrid fungus causes a skin disease in many amphibian species. It is spread mainly via either contact with aquatic habitats that are high in chytrid fungus load or exposure to infected individuals, but it affects amphibians by feeding on the keratin they produce, which causes keratosis. Keratosis can be detrimental to amphibians because it inhibits their ability to absorb water and electrolytes. This can cause the amphibian to either suffocate or to go into cardiac arrest.The effects of the chytrid fungus on boreal toad populations are highly variable, with some populations experiencing total extirpation due to exposure and others experiencing a chronic disease cycle in which low transmission rates lead to a 5% year-to-year population decrease. These differences in effect are due to complex host-pathogen relationships between the chytrid fungus, the toads, aquatic environment, temperature, population size, and elevation. As climate change shifts all of these variables, the chytrid fungus is expected to be a stronger presence in many boreal toad populations.