The Story of Alberta’s Abandoned Amphibians

August 11, 2025

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• Amphibians
• Biodiversity
• Species at Risk
• Wildlife
• WLA Archive

 

By Sara Heerema

Read the PDF version here.

 

A gelatinous mass rising out of a country slough might not seem like the most appealing scene to come across. But here in Alberta, making sure that these writhing balls of jelly — amphibian eggs — get the best possible start in life is an essential piece of the puzzle for preserving biodiversity and keeping our ecosystems healthy. Amphibians are a unique classification of animals that often live double lives, partly in the water and partly on land. Alberta has three types of amphibians: frogs, toads, and salamanders. Although not as recognizable as certain species like the red-eyed tree frog (a poster child for species conservation) or the Surinam toad (which incites universal horror in those inclined towards Trypophobia), our Alberta amphibians deserve no less attention.

For 60 years, AWA has worked to protect and preserve what makes Alberta unique: our wilderness and the rich complexity of biodiversity that comes with it. We have seen a lot of wins in that time, as well as some losses. We are still advocating for many of the same things we were at the beginning: the appreciation and protection of our wild spaces and wildlife as a public good, and more mindful development that takes ecological integrity into high regard. Throughout the years at AWA, we have emphasized threats to the at-risk northern leopard frog, discussed the dangers of Chytrid fungus for amphibians, and highlighted good news stories like the project reintroducing northern leopard frogs to Waterton Lakes National Park. We have consistently advocated for a greater network of protected areas, including critical habitat for amphibians. Despite the work of dedicated conservationists, amphibian species have been declining in abundance in the face of poor legislation and continual development.

You may only associate amphibians with wetlands, but their habitats are more diverse than that. The Plains spadefoot lives in sandy soils, while the Canadian toad prefers any type of forest. If you’re very lucky, you may catch a glimpse of a tiger salamander meandering back to its underground burrow where the city edges meet shortgrass prairie or parkland ecosystems. Because of their sensitive skin and specific habitat requirements, amphibians are facing many new challenges due to human activity. Land-use changes, urban development and roadways, chemical additions to ecosystems, water pollution, extended periods of drought, and Chytrid fungus are all culprits in their declining numbers across the world, including right here in Alberta. The City of Calgary once had six species of amphibians living within its boundaries. Sadly, the last time a northern leopard frog was documented in Calgary was in 2003, and as of 2021, only three species remain in the city.

Fallen army

One of the hardest hit by human stressors in Alberta is the northern leopard frog. Although a group of these frogs is called an army, picturing masses of leaping bodies travelling across the province sounds like something out of science fiction. But that hasn’t always been the case. Populations of northern leopard frog are distributed across Canada, with Alberta’s contingent known as the Western Boreal/Prairie Population. Once the most widespread frog in North America, these frogs have been listed as Threatened under the Alberta Wildlife Act since 1996 and were designated as Special Concern under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) in 2005. The Rocky Mountain population, just over the border in British Columbia, has been listed under SARA as endangered since 2003.

The Northern Leopard Frog Reintroduction Program in Alberta began in 1999 to try to tackle the issue of declining populations. Since then, various reintroduction projects have been undertaken in Alberta, including releases in the Raven River area (1999), the North Saskatchewan River (2001), Beauvais Provincial Park (2009), and Waterton Lakes National Park (2015). Despite these efforts and an improved understanding of the need to protect their breeding grounds, this army and other amphibian species in Alberta are at risk of even greater declines.

One of the main reasons for the drop in amphibian abundance, including the northern leopard frog, is the loss and degradation of critical habitat. Wetlands are often drained for agricultural land conversion and development. Industries, including oil and gas, chop up wetland and boreal habitats to create roads, drill pads, and seismic lines for oil and gas exploration. Road development fragments habitat, leaving amphibians vulnerable when crossing, especially during the breeding season when they move to new locations to lay eggs. Chemical runoff into wetland areas (such as pesticides, herbicides, salt, and by-products of industry) can severely impact amphibians, who absorb these chemicals directly through their skin. Before the insecticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was banned in Canada, it was linked to a reduced ability for amphibians to produce antibodies, which left them susceptible to diseases and infections. More recently, Atrazine, a common pesticide, has been linked to physical defects in frogs. Fish stocking in lakes and ponds for recreational fishing also greatly reduces the number of immature amphibian eggs and tadpoles that will make it to adulthood because of increased predation.

Climate change will continue to negatively impact amphibians as drought periods and rainfall unpredictability become more common, reducing suitable breeding and tadpole development habitat. Arguably, the most well-documented threat to amphibians is Chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis), which can cause a condition known as chytridiomycosis. This fungus can impact both tadpoles and adults, causing damage to skin, behaviour, and feeding patterns, often leading to death. First discovered in Alberta in 1999, it is now widespread. Unfortunately, studies are beginning to show that variable temperatures and more extreme rainfall and drought conditions caused by climate change can cause this fungus to spread more readily.

Two worlds, two losses

Amphibians are globally the most at risk for extinction out of all terrestrial vertebrates. Compounding this is the fact that losing one amphibian species in an environment is more like losing two. This is because of the unique nature of amphibians, which spend some of their lives on land and some of their lives in water, filling two distinct ecological niches. During the tadpole stage of amphibian lifecycles, the aquatic ecosystem is influenced by factors such as tadpole feeding and movement patterns. As they move onto land in their adult stage, their influence shifts towards terrestrial ecosystems, changing nutrient and carbon cycling, and interacting with a whole new host of habitat features and creatures. This also makes them twice as vulnerable, as they are exposed to hazards both in the water and on land.

Despite their key functions within ecosystems, legal protections for amphibians are severely lacking. In Canada, when a species is listed under SARA, there is a legal requirement for protection measures to be implemented. For Alberta, this generally means that certain species at risk found on federal lands (such as national parks) or under federal authority (such as migratory birds) have protections implemented under SARA. Alberta is one of seven other provinces and territories that do not have their own dedicated endangered species legislation. Instead, Alberta amended the Wildlife Act, which predominantly applies to hunting and fishing in the province, to include rules for designating and protecting species at risk.

The creation and implementation of both pieces of legislation are subject to the opinions of the ministers in charge at the time and input from multiple stakeholders who can comment on how a species listing may influence their interests. This can be a two-sided coin — the opportunity for stakeholders to provide feedback can help ensure that Indigenous knowledge is being included and give ENGOs like us a chance to highlight potential issues. However, it also means that just because a scientific committee rules that a species needs protection does not ensure that the recommendation will be enforced legally.

The idea that you can get warts from touching a frog or toad is an old wives’ tale, but its origin likely comes from interactions with species like the Canadian toad. This species has its own bumps and glands, giving them a signature lumpy look, and these produce a toxin that causes nausea, increased heart rate, and skin irritation to ward off predators. Unfortunately, these toxins can’t protect them from all of the threats they face here in Alberta. The Canadian toad is an example of a species being caught in the crossfire between research and policy implementation. Research shows that Canadian toad populations have been in decline, especially in Alberta parkland and grassland ecosystems, since the 1970s. With our understanding of how much essential habitat has been lost and damaged in that time, this comes as no surprise. Places like the McClelland Lake Wetland Complex, which AWA is advocating for the protection of in the face of a now-accepted plan to expand oil sands mining in the region, is home to this particularly patriotic toad.

The Status of the Canadian Toad in Alberta report, produced by the Government of Alberta and the Alberta Conservation Association, placed the Canadian toad on the red list in 1998, noting a decline in their numbers throughout the province. Since then, it has been listed as “may be at risk” provincially during each five-year reassessment from 2000 to 2020. Despite this, they have not been listed under Alberta’s Wildlife Act due to a consistent evaluation of being “data deficient.” This category applies when it is deemed that not enough is known about current populations to make an assessment. This mismatch leaves too much room for error. As we have seen with other species like wolverines, the data-deficient categorization allows for the assumption that populations are doing fine, rather than taking the precautionary principle to act as if they are at risk. If we knew the extent to which data-deficient species like the Canadian toad have declined in areas like McClelland Lake, would that project have been permitted to go through?

SARA lists the Canadian toad as “not at risk” federally, mainly because populations outside of Alberta remain somewhat stable. This differentiation between the federal and provincial level is common. Often, different populations of the same species that are separated throughout Canada, or even throughout Alberta, will have different conservation statuses. This can make it challenging to determine how at-risk a species is at first glance, because even if the population overall is doing well, it could be nearly extinct in certain geographical areas, which has damaging consequences for local ecosystems.

 Bolstering protection

Improving our understanding of the risks to this toad and other amphibians, and creating a better system for dealing with species at risk in Alberta (such as standalone species at risk legislation), could have a two-fold impact of increasing amphibian protections and creating legal requirements for preserving valuable ecosystems. Only three species of amphibians in Alberta are considered ‘secure’ — the wood frog, Boreal chorus frog, and western tiger salamander — and this designation is likely to change as amphibian populations continue to decline worldwide. The tiger salamander, for instance, is designated as special concern under SARA, suggesting that it may soon be listed similarly under the Alberta Wildlife Act.

Historical environmental wins would not have been possible without a future-centric approach, which fostered hopeful and meaningful commitments to conservation. Amphibians often serve as indicator species within their habitats (think “canary in the coal mine”), revealing harmful changes in the environment early on. Protecting critical habitats and species helps ensure that all ecosystem services are preserved for the health and resilience of everyone. For this to happen, we must first remind ourselves to celebrate the sounds of a frog chorus just as we anticipate the calls of migratory birds in spring. When we encounter those balls of jelly in the water, we should consider the long journey they must undertake to survive in our shrinking landscapes. And when we recall our childhood wonder at a former tadpole, now froglet, taking its first steps onto land, we must harness that energy to demand better for them, and for us.