PM01 Amphibian Research and Monitoring
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Monday, 10 November 2003
(PM020) Regional and state surveys in the northeast region of the USGS Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI).
Jung, R1, Nanjappa, P1, Southerland, M2, Pauley, T3, Gibbs, J4, Weir, L1, 1 USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD, USA2 Versar, Inc., Columbia, MD, USA3 Marshall University, Huntington, WV, USA4 State University of New York, Syracuse, NY, USA
ABSTRACT- The USGS Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) in the northeastern United States has conducted or sponsored several regional and state-focused apex and mid-level monitoring projects since 2001. Apex-level stream salamander surveys were conducted at 110 stream sites in Maryland and West Virginia in partnership with state stream monitoring efforts. These coordinated studies have allowed us to compare stream salamander data with water quality, benthic invertebrate and fish, physical habitat, and landscape data, and to determine whether stream salamanders are useful bioindicators of stream health. A mid-level monitoring regional survey of about 200 vernal pools at National Wildlife Refuges and National Parks in the northeast has allowed us to relate wood frog and spotted salamander presence to various environmental and landscape features. A calling survey of 500 sites historically surveyed for anurans in New York was repeated and population declines related to habitat change were documented. In coordination with the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program (NAAMP), we conducted nine calling surveys at each of 17 NAAMP routes in Maryland in 2002 to determine species detectability, phenology, and species-landscape associations. These and other studies have all led to a broader understanding of amphibian status in the northeastern United States.
Key words: monitoring, amphibian, stream, vernal pool