Landscape influences the morphology of male common toads (Bufo bufo)

In Europe, the recent agricultural intensification has strongly homogenised the landscape. This loss in habitat diversity and the use of agrochemicals are considered as major causes of the global erosion of biodiversity. Landscape changes may also favour phenotypic variation with divergences between populations even at a small spatial scale. We investigated this notion in the common toad (Bufo bufo), a species that inhabits a wide variety of rural habitats. Specifically, we compared the morphology of male adult toads from three contrasting landscapes: forests, traditional farming landscape and intensive farmlands. Overall, individuals from open landscapes were larger and heavier, had longer hind legs and larger parotoid glands than their forest counterparts; suggesting that open landscapes positively influence body size in this species. However, toads from intensive farmland were less symmetrical, suggesting that these individuals may have experienced environmental stress during larval and/or post-metamorphic development. Overall, our results suggest that landscape-specific traits can influence the morphology of male toads in complex ways. Further studies are required to comprehensively assess the impacts of environmental and anthropogenic pressures on amphibians in agroecosystems.