INDEX	March 24, 2025
Toads in the pools
Yesterday I took a short walk on the Coastal Park, the bit that goes from Haverigg to Silecroft. Less than a mile from Haverigg there are a number of small ponds, which I took to be salt water. I doubt if the tide gets there very often but they look like that's what they are. To my surprise I saw three toads at the bottom of one of these ponds, two of them engaged in fairly active toad production (or toadspawn generation, if that's what you call their progeny). I don't know what species they are but perhaps the fact that they were in Amplexus, though not of the group kind, identifies them? What struck me as odd was that tadpoles have gills and it's hard to see how if they are designed for fresh water they can survive in even fairly mild salt water. So help me out. Can amphibians breed in salt water?
INDEX Jonathan Brind	March 24, 2025