Toads As An Early Warning System For Earthquakes?
Toads are some of nature's most resilient creatures making them favorite subjects of studies.
One of such studies found out that toads have natural seismic sensors as well as the ability to detect volcanic eruptions days before.
This finding was noticed in Italy, days before an earthquake struck L'Aquila in 2009.
Common toads left their colony three days before the earthquake, with breeding pairs and mates together.
This happened, despite the fact that the colony was 74 miles away from the epicenter of the quake, according to biologists who published their studies in the Journal of Zoology.
How these creatures knew in advance is still the question many biologists are trying to find out.
There had been studies with domestic animals and how they respond to such impending natural calamities as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
However, studies on wild animals, their reactions, and how they sensed earthquakes are more difficult.
Other wild animals had been studied including fish, rodents, and snakes but they tend to react so shortly before the actual event, unlike the common toads.
The biologist who noticed this reaction from toads, Dr.
Rachel Grant, had been monitoring the behavior of the colony of toads on a daily basis even before the earthquake struck.
Her study included a 29-day period of data gathering before, during, and after the earthquake.
The massive earthquake had a magnitude of 6.
3 in the Richter scale.
The first noticeable fact five days before the earthquake was the disappearance of about 4% of the male population, which is very unlikely in common toads since males normally stay active in large numbers once they have bred until the spawning is finished.
At that time, spawning has not yet even began, demanding interest from Dr.
Grant.
In addition, no weather-related event would have caused the disappearance.
Although there were spawns found 6 days before and 6 days after the earthquake period--the time between the first shock to the last aftershock--there were no spawns found during this time itself.
Just how exactly these toads detect seismic activity is not yet established.
The study of Dr.
Grant was the first of its kind to record wild animal behavior before, during, and after an earthquake.
The sudden shift of common toads' behavior happened during the disruptions deep within the earth's ionosphere, which the researchers detected using VLF (very low frequency) radio sounding.
Earth scientists link these changes in this layer to the release of radon gas, or gravity waves, before the event.
However, during the L'Aquila quake Dr.
Grant could not determine what was the real cause of the disruptions in the ionosphere.
This made her believe that the toads detected pre-seismic activities ahead of time.
Ants do not care about earthquakes In a totally opposite result, the desert harvester ants of Mojave Desert was unaffected by a 7.
4 magnitude quake that hit the area in the middle of the study.
There was no discernable change behavior at all before, during, and after the quake.
They continued to do their daily business oblivious to the destructive power of their surroundings.
These two studies are strange news to us who think that every living creature on the planet must be affected in some way or another when a powerful earthquake strikes.
One of such studies found out that toads have natural seismic sensors as well as the ability to detect volcanic eruptions days before.
This finding was noticed in Italy, days before an earthquake struck L'Aquila in 2009.
Common toads left their colony three days before the earthquake, with breeding pairs and mates together.
This happened, despite the fact that the colony was 74 miles away from the epicenter of the quake, according to biologists who published their studies in the Journal of Zoology.
How these creatures knew in advance is still the question many biologists are trying to find out.
There had been studies with domestic animals and how they respond to such impending natural calamities as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
However, studies on wild animals, their reactions, and how they sensed earthquakes are more difficult.
Other wild animals had been studied including fish, rodents, and snakes but they tend to react so shortly before the actual event, unlike the common toads.
The biologist who noticed this reaction from toads, Dr.
Rachel Grant, had been monitoring the behavior of the colony of toads on a daily basis even before the earthquake struck.
Her study included a 29-day period of data gathering before, during, and after the earthquake.
The massive earthquake had a magnitude of 6.
3 in the Richter scale.
The first noticeable fact five days before the earthquake was the disappearance of about 4% of the male population, which is very unlikely in common toads since males normally stay active in large numbers once they have bred until the spawning is finished.
At that time, spawning has not yet even began, demanding interest from Dr.
Grant.
In addition, no weather-related event would have caused the disappearance.
Although there were spawns found 6 days before and 6 days after the earthquake period--the time between the first shock to the last aftershock--there were no spawns found during this time itself.
Just how exactly these toads detect seismic activity is not yet established.
The study of Dr.
Grant was the first of its kind to record wild animal behavior before, during, and after an earthquake.
The sudden shift of common toads' behavior happened during the disruptions deep within the earth's ionosphere, which the researchers detected using VLF (very low frequency) radio sounding.
Earth scientists link these changes in this layer to the release of radon gas, or gravity waves, before the event.
However, during the L'Aquila quake Dr.
Grant could not determine what was the real cause of the disruptions in the ionosphere.
This made her believe that the toads detected pre-seismic activities ahead of time.
Ants do not care about earthquakes In a totally opposite result, the desert harvester ants of Mojave Desert was unaffected by a 7.
4 magnitude quake that hit the area in the middle of the study.
There was no discernable change behavior at all before, during, and after the quake.
They continued to do their daily business oblivious to the destructive power of their surroundings.
These two studies are strange news to us who think that every living creature on the planet must be affected in some way or another when a powerful earthquake strikes.
