Lack of oxygen blamed for Powys pond frog deaths

The 300 dead frogs were found round a garden pond near Llandrindod Wells

A lack of oxygen has been blamed for the deaths of hundreds of frogs in a pond in Powys.

A woman found the 300 dead amphibians round the edge of her garden pond, near Llandrindod Wells, following a cold snap last month.

It is unclear why so many perished, but such a large number living in the pond could have depleted the oxygen levels.

The discovery followed the thaw of ice and snow that had been covering the pond for several weeks.

The woman, who does not want to be named, is a member of Radnorshire Wildlife Trust (RWT).

The trust explained that garden ponds were a "very valuable resource" for all sorts of wildlife, and frogs often used them during the winter.

A trust spokeswoman said: "It is not clear exactly why this tragic event happened, but it is likely that for some reason the levels of oxygen were depleted, and the frogs couldn't breathe.

Big freeze

"This was maybe because of the snow sitting on the ice for so long and blocking out the light, or just because of the great number of frogs living in this small pond.

"In a well vegetated pond, submerged water plants continue to oxygenate under the ice and levels can build up to a higher level than normal, which means life can go on."

She added that it was advisable to brush some snow off the iced-over ponds.

Fortunately, the frogs in the woman's two other ponds survived the big freeze.

RWT manager Julian Jones said: "Species like frogs can recover from these occasional but catastrophic natural events as long as the habitat is good - if you lose the habitat, the loss can be permanent.

"Luckily, the ponds on this site provide excellent amphibian breeding grounds and next year no doubt the ponds will be full of frog spawn."