1999 Annual Report Shenandoah National Park Inventory and Monitoring Program-PrimnetAmphibian Project

Jung, Robin

Amphibian declines worldwide have created a need for more extensive and standardizedmonitoring of amphibian populations and for elucidating underlying causes of amphibiandeclines (Heyer et al. 1994). In response to concerns about amphibian declines andmalformations, a study evaluating and validating amphibian monitoring techniques was initiatedin 1998 in Shenandoah National Park under the auspices of PRIMENet (Park Research andIntensive Monitoring of Ecosystems Network), an interagency effort of the EPA and NFS.A web site describing the study is found at http://www.mp 1 -pwrc.usgs.gov/amphib/primenet). Field work was conducted by four-person field crews from March-October 1998 and from March-August 1999. In general, we documented amphibian (egg, larva, adult) distribution and abundance using various survey methods (e.g., area- and time-constrained searches in plots and along transects, artificial cover objects, leaf litter bags, 1 m2 quadrats, chorus surveys). Amphibians were measured and sexed in the field. Deformities or diseases were documented, but in the two years, only two deformed amphibians and no diseased amphibians were found.Population size estimates were assessed for terrestrial and streamside salamanders using markrecapture(visible implant fluorescent elastomer) and/or removal techniques. We also recordedmany environmental variables, including water quality (temperature, pH, acid-neutralizingcapacity, conductivity), soil moisture and pH, and habitat (e.g., streambank composition), inorder to relate these to variation in amphibian population parameters. We also completed a studyof Plethodon shenandoah genetics and initiated monitoring methods for this federallyendangeredspecies.

1999 Annual Report Shenandoah National Park Inventory and Monitoring Program-PrimnetAmphibian Project

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