Greater Yellowstone Network amphibian and wetland monitoring: Status report for 2017 and 2018
Patla D and Ray A. 2020. Greater Yellowstone Network amphibian and wetland monitoring: Status report for 2017 and 2018. Natural Resource Report. NPS/GRYN/NRR—2020/2111. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
Amphibian and wetland monitoring have been conducted annually in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks since 2006. Under the direction of the Greater Yellowstone Inventory and Monitoring Network, the main goals of this program are to estimate occupancy rates for the reproductive component of native amphibian species and to monitor the dynamics of wetland sites that provide potential breeding habitat. These annual measures of amphibian occurrence and wetlands offer insights about changing wetland conditions and amphibian population dynamics, contributing to local, regional, and national level trends analysis. This work, when combined with historical data, will provide managers and the public with information on a class of native fauna and on wetland characteristics that are important for understanding long-term trends or climate induced changes to wetlands. This report summarizes results from the years 2017 and 2018, the12th and 13th consecutive years of formal monitoring under this program. We conducted surveys in 31 catchments (sampling units). All four native species targeted for occupancy monitoring were found within the catchments: Boreal Chorus Frog (Pseudacris macu-lata); Columbia Spotted Frog (Rana luteiventris), Western Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma mavortium), and West-ern Toad (Anaxyrus boreas). Western Toad reproduction was detected at a small number of sites outside the 31 catchments in 2017 and 2018. The Plains Spadefoot (Spea bombifrons), confirmed as a resident of Yellowstone in 2013, was not found in the catchments, but we provide some information from informal monitoring at the known breeding site. Beaver influence (functional dams) was found in 5 catchments in 2017 and 2018. Amphibian mortality was observed at some sites in both years. Symptoms of a presumed cyanobacterial bloom at a pothole pond in Grand Teton National Park in concurrence with mass mortality of Western Tiger Salamander larvae may flag a new concern.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Patla, Debra; Ray, Andrew
- Date of Issue
- 2020-04
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- BICA , GRTE , GRYN , JODR , NRSS , YELL
- Keywords
- amphibian, monitoring, wetland
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Amphibians and Reptiles