A new challenge for the European fire-bellied toad in Denmark
A very strong storm on the night of October 20-21, 2023 confirmed the validity of the project activities. One of the strongest fire-bellied toad populations in the South Funen Archipelago on the island of Birkholm suffered severe losses due to the flooding of this species' habitat by the sea.
Almost the entire island was submerged when the outer dikes were breached by the raging waves. Only thanks to the internal causeway built in 1872, the buildings in the center of the island avoided flooding. As part of our project, we created a mirror population on the island of Skarø from fire-bellied toad eggs collected on Birkholm. We have therefore preserved the genetic material, which will most likely be significantly depleted in its original location as a result of the storm.
Many thanks for the photos Starling Air Ærø
