SECN Monitoring [Pilot]: Herpetological Monitoring Surveys for the Southeast Coast Network: 2009-2010, 2011-2012, and 2014

Byrne M, Smrekar B, Moore M, Harris C, Blankley B, Elston L, Bazemore P. SECN Monitoring [Pilot]: Herpetological Monitoring Surveys for the Southeast Coast Network: 2009-2010, 2011-2012, and 2014. 2009-2014. National Park Service

This project houses the Data Package and associated products for the Southeast Coast Network's (SECN) pilot program using Visual Encounter Surveys (VES) and Automated Recording Devices (ARDs) to monitor amphibians and reptiles (collectively “herps”) in the network parks, with emphasis on amphibians. Amphibians were chosen for monitoring because of their global importance as ecological indicators, documented population declines and extinctions, and their high level of diversity in the Southeast. The overall goals of the pilot herpetological program were to determine trends in species occupancy, distribution, diversity, and community composition in SECN parks. For all protocols, park boundaries were used as the sampling frames and a suite of spatially-balanced random sampling locations were drawn from a 0.5-ha grid. In 2009 and 2010, VES monitoring efforts consisted of single time-constrained manual surveys conducted in the summer and early fall to visually identify herps at each sample site. Survey duration at each site was determined by four factors, 1) area to be surveyed, 2) vegetation density, 3) amount of downed woody debris (DWD), and 4) presence of freshwater aquatic features. For all years, ARD monitoring was conducted in the spring and summer. In 2009 and 2010, ARDs being deployed for a 10-day period, while in 2011-2012 and 2014, ARDs were deployed for 77-day periods. Recordings were first machine processed to match vocalization hits using species-detecting algorithms, before being manually processed by researchers for QA/QC purposes. Over 9,000 individual observations covering approximately 70 species were made at 12 NPS park units in 2009-2010. Over 192,000 signal detections determined to represent (in part) approximately 25 species were observed at 10 NPS park units in 2011, 2012, and 2014. Data collected under these protocols are stored in the SECN data management system and are available online in the Integration of Resource Management Applications (IRMA) database maintained by the Inventory and Monitoring Division national office located in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Type
Project
Authors
Byrne, Michael; Smrekar, Briana; Moore, Marylou; Harris, Casey; Blankley, Brent; Elston, Laura; Bazemore, Piper
Publisher
National Park Service
Units
CAHA , CALO , CANA , CHAT , CONG , CUIS , FOFR , FOMA , FOSU , HOBE , KEMO , MOCR , OCMU , TIMU
Keywords
Acoustic monitoring, Anuran, ARD, Audio recording, Automated recording device, CAHA, CALO, CANA, Canaveral National Seashore, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Cape Lookout National Seashore, CHAT, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, CONG, Congaree National Park, CUIS, Cumberland Island National Seashore, FOFR, FOMA, FOPU, Fort Caroline National Memorial, Fort Frederica National Monument, Fort Matanzas National Monument, Fort Pulaski National Monument, Fort Sumter National Monument, FOSU, Frog, Herp, HOBE, Horseshoe Bend National Military Park, KEMO, Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Long-term monitoring, MOCR, Moore's Creek National Battlefield, National Park Service, OCMU, Ocmulgee National Monument, Reptile, Snake, TIMU, Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, Toad, Treefrog, Turtle, Vocal Anuran

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