Confirmation Bias Perpetuates Century-Old Ecological Misconception: Evidence Against ‘Secretive’ Behavior of Eastern Spadefoots

Assortative mixing in eastern spadefoot (Scaphiopus holbrookii) spatial networks is driven by landscape features

“…Second, our results highlight subadult and NBA affinity for nonbreeding wetlands, which included both ephemeral and perennial wetlands that adult eastern spadefoots avoid and do not use for breeding. The majority of spadefoot field research focuses on breeding pools where adults, eggs, and larvae can be found (Devan-Song et al, 2021), overlooking the use of other types of wetlands by subadults and NBAs. Conservation efforts may be bolstered by including nonbreeding wetlands within the core habitat calculations for this species, and all life history stages should be included in these calculations.…”

“…The 2016 surveys were conducted similarly but did not include certain sections of the road (compare Figure 3a,b). Surveyors located eastern spadefoots using spotlighting for eyeshine following the methods described in Devan‐Song et al (2021). The relatively flat and open landscape of this site allowed for the detection of eyeshines up to nearly 50 m from a surveyor (Devan‐Song et al, 2021).…”

“…We created a spatial polygon dataset representing the area surveyed in the Yorktown Battlefield by extracting a 50‐m buffer around the surveyed roads. We chose a 50‐m buffer based on our spotlighting efficacy in this habitat (see Devan‐Song et al, 2021), where the topography and habitat type allow for the detection of frogs far away from the surveyor. We further subsetted the survey polygon by removing areas of the polygon where an eastern spadefoot would not physically be able to burrow or forage (i.e., inundated perennial wetlands or streams).…”

“…Surveyors located eastern spadefoots using spotlighting for eyeshine following the methods described in Devan-Song et al (2021). The relatively flat and open landscape of this site allowed for the detection of eyeshines up to nearly 50 m from a surveyor (Devan-Song et al, 2021). When we spotlighted an eastern spadefoot, we left the road, captured the individual for processing, and recorded GPS location with a handheld unit (AE5 m).…”

“…Hatching, development to metamorphosis, and metamorph dispersal away from breeding pools occur in a remarkably short time, sometimes in as little as 2 weeks, before breeding pools dry up (Palis, 2012). For the rest of the year on nonbreeding nights, adults emerge regularly from their burrows to forage in forests (Devan‐Song et al, 2021), traveling short distances between several burrows (Pearson, 1957; Timm et al, 2014). Although soil types determine where spadefoots are able to dig burrows (Baughman & Todd, 2007; Moran & Button, 2011), their life history is tightly linked to the extreme unpredictability and ephemerality of breeding pools.…”