Jersey Toad PhD - CONSERVATION OF THE CRAPAUD
In September 2004, I began a 3-year study, funded by the Jersey Ecology Fund, on the common European toad (Bufo bufo) in Jersey. The species was once supposedly very common in the island – it shares the crapaud name with Jersey islanders! Declines have been recorded for several decades and the toad is now restricted to fewer than 10 semi-natural breeding ponds in the wild in Jersey. A media appeal run in conjunction with the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust has, however, resulted in some 200 garden pond records from members of the Jersey public. 
Bufo bufo does not usually breed in the small, ornamental fishponds associated with Jersey gardens though there is evidence of plasticity in breeding site choice in this species from other areas where the geology does not favour large water bodies. A selection of garden-pond breeding sites is being visited and their population dynamics compared with the few remaining natural breeding ponds. Any differences in molecular ecology at garden and “wild” toad ponds are also being assessed and compared with sites in NW France and S England. Many garden sites have only one or two reproductive female toads each year and this has implications both for genetic fitness and the long-term viability of the population.
There is an abundance of small farm reservoirs in the agricultural areas of Jersey that are rarely, nowadays at least, utilized as toad breeding sites but that would seem to be suitable. An experimental examination of the affects of water quality variables, coupled with landscape-scale analysis of features associated with toad breeding ponds in Jersey, will hopefully elucidate the factors influencing toad distribution on the island and reveal elements important for their conservation. It is, for example, perhaps important that toads in Jersey often breed as early as January so their spawn and larvae may be especially susceptible to runoff containing the products of winter-crop fertilizer applications. 
Jersey crapauds seem to be demonstrating remarkable adaptation to local conditions – those in nearby France seem inclined to act like more conventional toads – surviving in novel habitats and with an unusual reproductive ecology. This serves as a salient reminder to all of us engaged in amphibian decline research that there are always new things to be discovered about even well-known species and that decline phenomena often owe more to specific local conditions than to global pandemics or rampant urbanization. JARG's ongoing pond and habitat monitoring will help assess future changes in fortune of the crapaud over time and, hopefully, be able to monitor the spread of toads into former breeding sites as the species begins its recovery in Jersey.
John W. Wilkinson
Protocol for collection of dead toads in Jersey for health studies.
Every year, with the start of the breeding season, numerous toads are found dead in Jersey from natural or accidental causes. As part of the ongoing conservation efforts we want to use these dead specimens to gain knowledge on the health status, causes of death and parasite loads of the Jersey toad. To do this we need as many samples as possible so we request your help.
If you find a dead toad, please collect it, following the instructions below and contact us at;