Accessibility and surface area drive desert toad presence at artificial water sites in the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts
- 1Department of Biology, California State University Bakersfield, Bakersfield, California, United States of America
- 2Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Sentinel System Program Office, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, United States of America
- 3Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, United States of America
Abstract
Artificial Water Sites (AWS) are human-made or modified water sources constructed or maintained for livestock, select wildlife game species, or other management purposes in arid environments. However, non-target species such as desert toads have been documented utilizing AWS. Because the reproductive ecology of desert toads relies on water, understanding factors explaining their presence at AWS can inform conservation practices. To address this lack of information, we examined how AWS design, spatial isolation, local terrain, and surrounding vegetation influenced toad presence in the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts. From May to June 2011, we surveyed 68 AWS for species presence of toads and quantified AWS design features and environmental variables. We detected Great Basin spadefoot toads (Spea intermontana) at 61% of Great Basin AWS and red-spotted toads (Anaxyrus punctatus) at 38% of Mojave AWS. We used generalized mixed-effects models and AIC model selection to identify the most informative variables. Top performing predictors resulted in the final model ‘access height (lowest distance between water edge and ground surface) + surface area (surface area coverage of water)’, which accounted for 86% of model weight. The predictor ‘access height’ had a significant negative association with toad presence whereas ‘surface area’ had a significant positive association. Spatial isolation, terrain, and vegetation predictors were not found to influence toad occurrence. Our results indicate that AWS design, specifically lower access height and increased surface area, enhances desert toad use, potentially improving amphibian habitat suitability and persistence.
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BibTeX
@article{gordillo2026accessibility,
title = {{Accessibility and surface area drive desert toad presence at artificial water sites in the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts}},
author = {Leah N. Gordillo and Nathalie Larios-Chavez and Gisel Larios and Robert N. Knight and Randy T. Larsen and Brock R. McMillan and Lucas K. Hall},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0357569},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0357569},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Accessibility and surface area drive desert toad presence at artificial water sites in the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts
AU - Leah N. Gordillo
AU - Nathalie Larios-Chavez
AU - Gisel Larios
AU - Robert N. Knight
AU - Randy T. Larsen
AU - Brock R. McMillan
AU - Lucas K. Hall
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0357569
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0357569
AB - Artificial Water Sites (AWS) are human-made or modified water sources constructed or maintained for livestock, select wildlife game species, or other management purposes in arid environments. However, non-target species such as desert toads have been documented utilizing AWS. Because the reproductive ecology of desert toads relies on water, understanding factors explaining their presence at AWS can inform conservation practices. To address this lack of information, we examined how AWS design, spatial isolation, local terrain, and surrounding vegetation influenced toad presence in the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts. From May to June 2011, we surveyed 68 AWS for species presence of toads and quantified AWS design features and environmental variables. We detected Great Basin spadefoot toads (Spea intermontana) at 61% of Great Basin AWS and red-spotted toads (Anaxyrus punctatus) at 38% of Mojave AWS. We used generalized mixed-effects models and AIC model selection to identify the most informative variables. Top performing predictors resulted in the final model ‘access height (lowest distance between water edge and ground surface) + surface area (surface area coverage of water)’, which accounted for 86% of model weight. The predictor ‘access height’ had a significant negative association with toad presence whereas ‘surface area’ had a significant positive association. Spatial isolation, terrain, and vegetation predictors were not found to influence toad occurrence. Our results indicate that AWS design, specifically lower access height and increased surface area, enhances desert toad use, potentially improving amphibian habitat suitability and persistence.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -