Tadpoles

[sweetpea]

My wildlife pond is still choc a bloc with tadpoles. I would have thought by now they should all be little froglets but no sign of any yet.
Any ideas?

[grindle]

Found this sweetpea
Tadpoles have not developed into froglets and it’s autumn, is something wrong?
Answer

Quick answer
No, it’s quite common for tadpoles to overwinter in the pond if they have not experienced the right conditions to develop.
Further information
Tadpoles/larvae usually develop into young amphibians and leave the pond during the summer months, but occasionally you might still see them in the pond throughout autumn and winter. These ‘overwintering’ tadpoles complete their development the following spring (if they survive the winter weather).

There could be several reasons for this slow development. The pond may be so crowded that the tadpoles are short of food – this is likely to resolve itself over time – or the pond may be too cold, due to a shaded location or steep-sided construction. If the pond is shaded, consider cutting back some of the overhanging vegetation to increase the amount of light and warmth reaching the surface of the water.

At this stage, do not attempt to help these slow-growers by providing extra food or taking them out of the pond – you could end up with them completing their development in the middle of winter when there are few natural sources of food in the garden to support them. They should be fine in the pond until next spring.

There is evidence to suggest that this may be a deliberate strategy for some frogs, as tadpoles that overwinter in the pond and leave the water in the spring have an advantage over those tadpoles that complete their development in one year and leave in late summer.

Sometimes frog and toad tadpoles have a genetic abnormality which means that they will remain as tadpoles for their whole lives. If a tadpole lacks the gene which produces the growth hormone thyroxine they will be unable to metamorphose into froglets or toadlets. This is nothing to worry about since it is a natural mutation and only occurs in a very small number of tadpoles. The tadpoles will continue to feed and grow within the pond all year and may survive as tadpoles for several years.

[SueA]

That's really interesting grindle, I never knew that about some of them may never develop into frogs because of a genetic mutation. We have some minute little frogs in the borders, I have to be careful when I'm weeding or digging holes.

[sweetpea]

Thanks for that grindle the pond in question is covered with duckweed so that may be a contributing factor.
I have a new duckweed eliminator to try but have to remove as much as I can first.

[grindle]

I'd heard somewhere about it, just had to look to find it
Good luck with the duckweed sweetpea let me know how it goes, I'm at a loss on how to get rid