THE HOUSTON TOAD
Bufo hounstonensis
The Houston Toad was placed on the federal endangered species list in 1970, and was the first amphibian to be added to this list. It was nearly wiped out completely from the Houston area in the 1960’s. It is estimated that there are only approximately 300 of these rare amphibians left in the wild. A major hindrance of their rehabilitation is the fact that this species is considered a "habitat specialist", meaning it requires very specific habitat conditions in order to live somewhere.
Houston Toads are crucial in the food web. Their remaining population is concentrated mainly in the Bastrop area, while they can also be found in a few other Texas counties. They feed on such organisms as red ants, ground beetles, and even smaller toads. They are an important part of the diet of organisms including spiders, racoons, snakes, turtles, and owls. This makes them very important to a multitude of food chains. As amphibians, they play a very important part in nutrient cycles, as they carry nutrients from the water to the land after they become fully-terrestrial.
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The Houston Toad is found in only a few remaining areas of Texas around the Bastrop State Park area as well as the Griffith League Scout Reservation. They are considered “habitat specialists”, meaning they require very specific environmental conditions in order to call an area home. The toads prefer areas with deep sandy soil and a tall canopy, whether that consists of oak or pine. For breeding, they congregate in areas with generally shallow water and small, raised mounds where the males will position themselves and call out to potential mates. As for a year-round home, these toads enjoy fallen logs, stones, roots, or even turned garden pots to live under. This is a very important species to the Texas ecosystem and Piney Woods area food web, and we must do all that we can to preserve their habitat for them and all of the other various species that call this environment home.
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conservation threats
The most immediate threat to the habitat of the Houston Toad is habitat destruction, specifically for the development of new housing. Additionally, a decrease in the red ant population, a staple prey of B. houstonensis, is affecting their numbers.
Another major contributor to habitat destruction was the Bastrop county complex fires of 2011, which burned over 34,000 acres and caused $325 million in damages.
conservation efforts
The Houston Zoo is leading conservation efforts with their Houston Toad captive breeding program. “The zoo maintains a 1,200 square foot Houston toad quarantine facility that serves as a location for the captive breeding and head starting of wild Houston toad egg strands for release into the wild. This facility is managed by two full-time Houston toad specialists who care for the toads and work closely with the program partners in the breed-and-release efforts” (houstonzoo.org/explore/animals/houston-toad/). The Houston Zoo released 985,000 toad eggs into the wild in 2019.
Check out this video from the Houston Zoo describing the differences between a gulf coast toad and a Houston toad!
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