Frogs and Salamanders Now Cross Roads More Safely

Frogs and salamanders cross roads every spring, and their risky migrations could wipe out entire populations within a few years. But the COVID-19 pandemic has given scientists a surprise opportunity to prove that reducing road traffic could save these creatures from extinction.

A study of salamanders – an essential species in the environment and food cycle – in Massachusetts, USA showed that cars killed on average 17 percent of amphibians migrating 100 meters, and 37 percent of those travelling 500 meters. Greg LeClair, a graduate herpetology student and the founder of Big Night Maine, a network of citizen scientists who count amphibians and help them cross roads in Maine, believes that the drop in traffic due to the pandemic is therefore a plus for the migrating amphibians: This year, LeClair’s 87 citizen scientists rescued 1,487 amphibians across Maine, with 335 dead, doubling the estimate to four living amphibians for every one run over, compared to the two-to-four ratio last year.

“Roads have been around for something like 0.000003 percent of the existence of salamanders, and here they are knocking out populations throughout New England,” says LeClair. “They’ve been through meteor impacts and changes in oxygen levels and dinosaurs and ice ages. It would be a shame to have roads be the end.”

LeClair stresses that if the preliminary data – which gives light to what is possible when human activity is reduced – holds up, it could likely lead to discussions for temporary road closures or setting up amphibian crossings on roads.