Weir Farm National Historic Site Amphibian and Reptile Inventory: March - September 2000

Brotherton, David; Cook, Robert; Behler, John

Amphibians and reptiles (herpetofauna) of Weir Farm National Historic Site. Under a National Park Service/Wildlife Conservation Society Cooperative Agreement, an inventory of amphibians and reptiles at Weir Farm National Historic Site in Connecticut was conducted from March through September 2000. Six standardized sampling methods were employed; anuran call counts, egg-mass counts, time-constrained search, coverboards, turtle traps, and minnow traps. In addition, animals encountered outside of standardized surveys (temporally or spatially) were recorded as incidental encounters. Eighteen amphibian and reptile species were documented in 2000 and a 19th, the marbled salamander, was incidentally recorded in 1998. These represent 63% (19/30) of the species likely to have occurred historically in the vicinity of Weir Farm. These included seven frog/toad species, five salamander species, four turtle species, and three snake species. Spring peeper, red-spotted newt, painted turtle, and eastern gartersnake were the most abundant and widely distributed species in each taxonomic group, based on total numbers of adults encountered and total number of locations recorded from. The only “listed’ species found was the eastern box turtle, a species of Special Concern in Connecticut. Two adult eastern box turtles were found, one adjacent to Weir Pond and another in Field #1. Of the 30 species likely to have occurred historically in the vicinity of Weir Farm, 19 species recorded in 1998-2000 and seven not recorded appear to be stable in terms of their population trends. Four species not recorded in 2000 were considered to be “declining” based on regional population trends. Each survey method was useful in sampling different habitats and specific species, and it is recommended that any future inventories targeting the entire herpetofauna include each method, and sample both upland and wetland habitats. Conversely, an inventory targeted at a particular species will need to sample specific habitats using only one or two methods. The “method” that documented the most species was incidental encounters, which recorded 16 of 18 species found in 2000. Nine species were recorded during pond time-constrained searches, seven each with anuran call counts and woodland time-constrained searches, six each with field time-constrained searches, minnow trapping, turtle trapping, and coverboards, five with stream time-constrained searches, and one species with egg-mass counts. Sixteen species were documented in wetland habitats, followed by 12 in uplands, and five in streams. Of the 21 localities (16 standardized sites and 5 incidental encounter locations) at which amphibians and reptiles were recorded, 52% (11) were uplands, 33% (7) were wetlands, and 14% (3) were streams. While a detailed plan for monitoring is beyond the scope of this inventory, the results suggest that, in terms of both feasibility and priority, a monitoring program based on time or spatially constrained search, anuran call counts, coverboards, and aquatic minnow trapping would be the most useful methods for generating quantitative data useful for trends analysis.

Weir Farm National Historic Site Amphibian and Reptile Inventory: March - September 2000

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