Meetnetten.be - Sightings for Natterjack toad in Flanders, Belgium

Study Extent

Epidalea calamita or the Natterjack toad is a pioneer species that thrives in dynamic environments. The species reproduces from April to August, when the animals gather in breeding pools and the males call loudly.

Sampling

Due to the ephemeral nature of the breeding waters of this species and its overall dynamic nature, monitoring is executed at site (and not waterbody) level. A long reproductive period results into the presence of multiple life stages throughout the year. Therefore, three nocturnal visits per site are made and all life stages are counted along a predetermined route running between water bodies: · Egg strands, · Tadpoles, · Terrestrial juveniles (< 2 cm), · Terrestrial juveniles (> 2 cm), · Adults observed · Adults heard (calling males) Sampling was done using the protocol described in De Bruyn et al. (2015), updated by Speybroeck et al. (2020), and explained to volunteers in Lewylle et al. (2017).

Quality Control

Data are collected using a predefined sampling protocol.

Method steps

1. Researchers from INBO and Natuurpunt Studie define and document the appropriate sampling protocol for the target species.
2. Fieldwork is planned and coordinated by Natuurpunt Studie, using https://meetnetten.be.
3. Data are collected in the field by specialized volunteers, using the predefined sampling protocol.
4. Volunteers enter the collected data in https://meetnetten.be.
5. A custom SQL view is created in the meetnetten.be database to map the original data to Darwin Core as an event core with an occurrence extension
6. The Darwin Core views are connected to the INBO IPT and documented with metadata.
7. The dataset is published and registered with GBIF.

The target species for Meetnetten.be are listed at https://meetnetten.be/#group-1. Other salamanders observed during the sampling are also included. This dataset covers the Natterjack sighting protocol, for which there are 1 target species.

1. Animalia
   rank: kingdom
2. Chordata
   rank: phylum
3. Amphibia
   rank: class
4. Anura
   rank: order
5. Epidalea calamita
   common name: Rugstreeppad rank: species

Flanders, Belgium