Frogs and Ponds: If You Dig It, They Will Come

In Aargau, Switzerland, conservationists dug hundreds of brand new ponds, with one goal in mind: boosting the population of threatened amphibian species such as the European tree frog.

“Species will come, they will settle and start using the space if you offer it to them,” states lead author of the study Dr Helen Moor.

A mass conservation effort started in 1999, and for 20 years, state authorities, non-profit organizations, private landowners, and hundreds of volunteers collectively created 422 ponds in five regions of Aargau. Since the creation of shallow ponds where the tiny European tree frog thrives, its population exploded. In fact, of the overall population of eight species at risk, 32% stabilized while 52% increased. For the species to continue to thrive, ponds will be monitored and managed.