Amphibian community monitoring at Cumberland Island National Seashore, 2012
Smrekar BD, Byrne MW, Kleinschmidt L, Schwartz N. 2013. Amphibian community monitoring at Cumberland Island National Seashore, 2012. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/SECN/NRDS—2013/531. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
This report summarizes amphibian community vital signs monitoring data collected at Cumberland Island National Seashore (CUIS) in 2012. Data were collected at 31 spatially balanced random locations using two techniques: automated recording devices (ARDs) and visual encounter surveys (VESs). Sampling activities occurred at the park from 2/6/2012 to 5/31/2012. Auditory recordings were collected from 2/6/2011 to 5/31/2012 and visual surveys were conducted from 2/29/2012 through 3/16/2012. A total of 543 vocal detections were made using the ARD recordings, where each detection represents an identifiable observation of a species or species group during one night of monitoring at a sampling location. We detected 10 amphibian species. We detected amphibian calls from nine identifiable species using ARDs. We detected 111 post-metamorphic amphibians in four species during VESs. We detected 137 reptile/reptile signs in 12 identifiable species during VESs. Squirrel treefrog (Hyla squirella) and Southern toad (Anaxyrus terrestris) had the highest frequency of occurrence and were the most widely-distributed amphibians at CUIS in 2012. Squirrel treefrog had the highest relative abundance during 2012 VESs, while the Southern toad had the highest relative detection frequency of vocalizations on the recordings. The Five-lined skink (Eumeces fasciatus) was confirmed in the park and added to the species list. No non-native species were found. Amphibian communities will next be sampled in 2016.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Smrekar, Briana; Byrne, Michael; Kleinschmidt, Lisa; Schwartz, Nathan
- Date of Issue
- 2013-08
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- CUIS , NRSS , SECN
- Keywords
- Amphibian Monitoring