If amphibians lay their eggs in puddles in spring and it then becomes so dry that there is no more water in them, the spawn will break. “The condition of the habitats for amphibians has deteriorated drastically in the last few dry years,” complains biologist Christiane Brandt. Therefore she initiated an amphibious rescue project in the Main-Spessart and Wrzburg districts.
So that yellow-bellied toads, crested newts and crested newts have a better chance of reproduction, a dozen concrete spawning tanks have been sunk into the ground in the past few days. In spite of the dry summer, the brood should hatch in it and develop to such an extent that it can become small hopperlings.
On-site meeting at one of the “construction sites”: Up until 1996, the Rhenish Provincial Basalt and Lava Works operated a quarry on the Ammerfeld above Euenheim-Aschfeld. Now the area is a nature reserve. The care farmer Jochen Deppisch (Hettstadt) loads his small excavator from the truck and rattles to the site.
Hiding places are also built in
Christiane Brandt had already chosen them before. Logically, it is a slightly lower-lying area where the water collects anyway when it rains. Quarries, sand and clay pits often have places with compacted soil, which helps create small bodies of water.
Landscape manager Peter Piesch from Randersacker has several spawning tanks with him on the trailer. He is, so to speak, the “ground staff” and directs the excavator driver. In the approximately 25 centimeters deep and dense concrete pools, the water will hold up longer than in shallow pools. In addition, there is also a person for each of these positions who, as a sponsor, so to speak, looks up again and again and, if necessary, fills up with water. Each toad tank has a small ledge under which the toads and tadpoles can hide.
Quarry operators are considerate
In addition to these basins, indentations for small pools were created with the excavator. Christiane Brandt has agreed with quarry operators that spawning areas will not be used from spring to late summer. For example, the Heidelberger Cement quarry in Lengfurt is home to areas of shallow water where cross-toed crusts can develop undisturbed.
The project is initiated by the government of Lower Franconia and is being carried out in close cooperation with local experts. About the role of Christiane Brandt: She is the Muschelkalk regional supervisor in the Wrzburg and Main-Spessart Landscape Management Association.
The places where the spawning basins are used for toads, toads and newts
The yellow-bellied toad, the crested newt are among the most endangered species in Bavaria. While unused areas in quarries are ideal breeding grounds for the first two animal species, the crested newt prefers near-natural waters in or near the forest.
Basins and / or pools for yellow-bellied toads were created at: Ammerfeld near Aschfeld (also for Kreuzkrten), Lohr-Steinbach (also for Kreuzkrten); Locksberg at Heidelberger Cement Lengfurt (also for Kreuzkrten); Bocksberg near Triefenstein and Marktheidenfeld (also for Kreuzkrten); Old Marktheidenfeld brickworks; Zellinger Forest (also crested newt); Lindelbach (also crested newt); two locations near Winterhausen; Quarry and meadow location near Hchberg; Steinbachtal Wrzburg; Unterdrrbach. In the Main-Spessart district, the Kreuzkrte is far more widespread than the yellow-bellied toad, and in the Wrzburg district it is exactly the opposite.
Source: Christiane Brandt
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