Gulf Coast Network Amphibian and Reptile Pilot Monitoring Project

Carlson, Jane

This project contains documents and data associated with the pilot phase of the Gulf Coast Network's amphibian monitoring project, which took place from 2008 to 2017. The unpublished, supplemental report by Carlson (2018) presents key findings based on the pilot data and describes the transition from pilot to final monitoring design. To summarize, the Gulf Coast Network (GULN) initially proposed to monitor amphibians in all eight of its parks using three main sampling techniques: PVC pipes on trees, coverboards on the ground, and minnow traps in standing water. Because these techniques could also be used to monitor some reptile species, the project was expanded to include reptiles, along with amphibians, as the target organisms for long-term monitoring. As early as 2009, the network began testing the three proposed techniques during monthly sampling events in all GULN parks except Padre Island National Seashore (PAIS). The trials lasted between several months to more than six years. The longest running studies, with 6+ years of data, were at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park & Preserve (JELA), Gulf Islands National Seashore (GUIS), and San Antonio Missions National Historical Park (SAAN)-Missions unit. Data were collected for five years at two parks: the Natchez Trace Parkway (NATR) and Vicksburg National Military Park (VICK). The pilot studies at San Antonio Missions NHP-Rancho unit and Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park (PAAL) lasted two to three years. Finally, the pilot study at Big Thicket National Preserve (BITH) lasted only six months. Despite fairly intensive efforts in some parks, amphibian yields were extremely low in most parks across the three techniques. Yields were even lower for reptiles, and in 2016, they were dropped as a monitoring target for the final project, although incidental reptile detections are still recorded. Also in 2016, it was decided that data collection for amphibian monitoring would only continue in parks that could produce data sets rich enough for eventual trend analyses on species richness, diversity, or relative abundance (counts per sampling object), based on one or more sampling technique. Only three parks met these criteria and were deemed viable for a monitoring protocol using both PVC pipes and coverboards as artificial cover objects: Jean Lafitte NHP&P, Gulf Islands NS and San Antonio Missions NHP-Missions unit. The 2018 Amphibian Monitoring Protocol is written for these three parks, and it uses plywood coverboards and PVC pipes to monitor amphibians along transects through targeted habitats.

Gulf Coast Network Amphibian and Reptile Pilot Monitoring Project

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