Reconstructing hotspots of genetic diversity from glacial refugia and subsequent dispersal in Italian common toads (Bufo bufo)

Analysis of survival probabilities of female common toads, Bufo bufo

Glacial refugia: hotspots but not melting pots of genetic diversity.

Glacial refuge areas are expected to harbor a large fraction of the intraspecific biodiversity of the temperate biota. To test this hypothesis, we studied chloroplast DNA variation in 22 widespread European trees and shrubs sampled in the same forests. Most species had genetically divergent populations in Mediterranean regions, especially those with low seed dispersal abilities. However, the ge...

Dynamic Vision System: Modeling the Prey Recognition of Common Toads Bufo Bufo

The tectal structures underlying the prey-catching of toads are one of the best-known mechanisms in neurobiology. In our paper we present a simpliied model of the prey recognition of the common toad Bufo bufo.We show that the recognition performance can be explained by coupling two neuron layers that exhibit locally excitatory interaction while there is a topographic inhibition between the laye...

Thallium in spawn, juveniles, and adult common toads (Bufo bufo) living in the vicinity of a zinc-mining complex, Poland

A breeding population of the common toad Bufo bufo living in the vicinity of a Zn-Pb smelting works in Bukowno, Poland was studied for the presence of thallium. Tl concentration was measured in the bottom sediments of the spawning pond, in the laid eggs, in juveniles after metamorphosis, and in the selected tissues of the adult individuals. A very high concentration of Tl was detected in the sp...

Road-killed common toads (Bufo bufo) in Flanders (Belgium) reveal low prevalence of ranaviruses and Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis.

Road-killed common toads (Bufo bufo; n51,740) from Flanders, Belgium, were tested for ranavirus and Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) using polymerase chain reaction. Both infections were present at a very low prevalence (,0.2% with a confidence interval of 95% for ranavirus and 0.63% for Bd). Healthy amphibians can be asymptomatic carriers of diseases responsible for devastating amphibian po...