Steven J R Allain

Steven J R Allain

Canterbury, Kent

University of Kent, Institute of Zoology, British Herpetological Society, IUCN SSC ASG,

PhD Student

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Published on Dec 16, 2022

Morse toad

It has been a while since we last posted a project update, mainly due to other commitments taking priority. This has not been helped by the weird spring and summer we had, which was not productive ...

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Published on Dec 22, 2021

Mistletoad and Wine

First off, Merry Christmas and a Hoppy New Year to everyone who has been following the project. I thought I'd give you a quick Christmas update before we enter 2022, when we hope to finally wrap th...

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Published on Aug 08, 2021

The Dark Side of the Toad

Things don't always go the way you'd like when it comes to science. We were hoping to have most (if not all) of the samples collected from the remaining midwife toad populations by now. However, Mo...

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Published on Mar 01, 2021

Time to hit the toad!

Somehow we've found ourselves in 2021 and we are still working on the project. The COVID-19 pandemic has really thrown a spanner in the works for a number of reasons such as the closure of the lab ...

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Published on Aug 21, 2020

Toads end up calling, in the warm August rain

It's been an exciting week for us. Since our last update, most of the country has experienced some heavy downpours. Whilst this rain has caused havoc and localised flooding in some areas, it has al...

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Published on Aug 14, 2020

On the toad again

It's been a while since our last update and a lot has changed in the world since April. Unfortunately a lot of this is outside of our control, however the changing conditions have allowed us to get...

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Published on Apr 03, 2020

You Can't Kill Frog and Roll

It's been a while since I last posted an update, it's been slow given the recent pandemic of coronavirus but progress is being made behind the scenes. First of all, you will notice that there is a ...

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Published on Feb 24, 2020

The Sound of Science

Hey everyone! Apologies for the silence over the past few months - it has been a busy one fraught with danger around every corner. I may be exaggerating a little but we have had our ups and downs. ...

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Published on Nov 07, 2019

Go with the Toad

It's been about a month and a half since the project was successfully funded and although we aimed to have them in the lab sooner, all of our samples are now in one place and ready to go! Thanks ag...

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I'm looking forward to the outcomes of this research project, and I'm more than happy to help support such an endeavour!
Mar 21, 2023
Can eDNA be used to detect the world’s largest amphibians?
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Thanks Jason, I hope so too!
Dec 29, 2021
Where did the non-native UK midwife toad populations come from?
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We've managed to sample the midwife toads in High Wycombe now but thanks for getting in touch about them!
Jul 11, 2021
Where did the non-native UK midwife toad populations come from?
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Hi Tim, that's great to know. Could you please email me the details via steveallain@live.co.uk so we can make sure we've got the population in your neck of the woods covered? Thanks, Steve
Aug 14, 2020
Where did the non-native UK midwife toad populations come from?
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Hi Geraldine, just a nudge to make sure you saw my previous message. We'd love to come and survey your toads this month if you're free. Steve
Aug 10, 2020
Where did the non-native UK midwife toad populations come from?
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Hi Bob, do you have a photo? If so could you please email it to me at steveallain@live.co.uk. Thanks, Steve
Jul 30, 2020
Where did the non-native UK midwife toad populations come from?
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Hi Geraldine, I sent you a message using the Experiment message system, to view it please visit https://experiment.com/inbox If it isn't there please email me at steveallain@live.co.uk and we can talk about mapping these guys and getting a sample. Steve
Jul 29, 2020
Where did the non-native UK midwife toad populations come from?
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Hi Geraldine, if you could get in touch we'd love to know more! Thanks, Steve
Jul 29, 2020
Where did the non-native UK midwife toad populations come from?
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Hi Johnnie, thanks for your words of encouragement. There is one historic data but it has not yet been validated, if you want to know more - please let me know. Also yes that is the same Trevor Beebee. He’s retired now but he’s a great friend and supported of my work.
Sep 29, 2019
Where did the non-native UK midwife toad populations come from?
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Thank you for your donation and the information Ian, I will certainly follow it up!
Aug 08, 2019
Where did the non-native UK midwife toad populations come from?
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You're very welcome Peter and thanks for your donation. Your suggestion is something we intend to do but due to the highly enclosed area where the midwife toads are, native amphibian species are very rarely seen. Common frogs (Rana temporaria) are the next most commonly observed species after the midwife toad and unfortunately tests have revealed that swabbing them for Bd isn't reliable. The other species however are on our radar.
Sep 13, 2017
Investigating the presence of the amphibian chytrid fungus in a non-native species
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Hi Peter, thank you for raising some questions - I'm more than happy to answer them for you. We're focusing on the toads as we have reason to believe that they were introduced from somewhere in Spain (waiting for the results of our genetic analysis to confirm this) and virulent strains of the chytrid fungus have caused declines in the species (and others) there. You can find out more by reading this article and others like it: Bosch, J., Martı́nez-Solano, I., & Garcı́a-Parı́s, M. (2001). Evidence of a chytrid fungus infection involved in the decline of the common midwife toad (Alytes obstetricans) in protected areas of central Spain. Biological conservation, 97(3), 331-337. They could have been infected with chytrid from a native source but we have no evidence to suggest the native amphibians are currently infected. If positive results do come back from the midwife toads then we aim to look at the lineage of Bd to try to work out its origins. If they do turn out to be infected with a virulent strain which threatens local species then mitigation will need to be put in place to ensure the disease does not spread. In terms of the loss of species due to chytrid I'd recommend this nice summary: Wake, D. B., & Vredenburg, V. T. (2008). Are we in the midst of the sixth mass extinction? A view from the world of amphibians. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105, 11466-11473. If you have any other questions or if you feel like I haven't answered yours fully then please let me know. Steve
Sep 13, 2017
Investigating the presence of the amphibian chytrid fungus in a non-native species
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