frogwatch volunteer training session 2016
TRANSCRIPT
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Welcome to the Montgomery County FrogWatch Chapter!
Website: www.mygreenmontgomery.org/frogwatch
Email: [email protected]
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Agenda
• FrogWatch USA and Montgomery County• Volunteer Commitments• Amphibians and wetlands• Monitoring Protocols• Data Entry using FieldScope• Local frogs and toads
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Montgomery County, MD507 sq. milesOver 1 million peopleNearly 400,000 homes
Very Diverse - 184 languages spokenAbout 12% impervious surface overall
About the size of Washington DC – 61 sq. miles or about 39,000 ac
Over 1,500 miles of streamsTwo major river basins:
Potomac (88% of drainage)Patuxent (12% of drainage)
Eight local watersheds
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FrogWatch USA www.frogwatch.org
• The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) • Citizen Science Program• Collects data on frog and toad breeding calls• Hosted by local chapters• Began in 1998 – 19th season!
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Why Collect Data?
• Describe local species diversity• Detect rare and invasive species• Monitor shifts in species diversity, range, and
phenology over time• Indicates wetland health• Inform the development of land management
strategies
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Volunteer Commitments • Must attend 2 volunteer
trainings– Today, February 10th – Field training in March
• Monitor a site weekly• Enter all data online using
FieldScope• Submit data sheets to DEP
Cider Press/Gunner’s Branch Pond, Germantown
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Amphibians• Have gills during at least one stage of their life
cycle• Live part of their lives in the water, part on land • Appeared on Earth ~350 million years ago and
are one of the oldest vertebrate classes alive• Three Orders: salamanders, frogs & toads, and
caecilians – Distinguished from other amphibians by being tail-less
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Frogs and Toads are Important• Benefit the natural world and humans:
– Predators and prey in the ecosystem– Pest control– Food
– Medicine
– Education and research
• Serve as indicators of wetland health• Sensitive to the environment
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Amphibian Declines• Globally, almost one out of every
third amphibian species is threatened with extinction
• Primary Causes of Decline:– Habitat loss and fragmentation
– Pollutants
– Introduction of non-native, invasive species
– Climate disruption
– Parasites and disease
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Lets Play a Game!
Frog or Toad?
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Anurans: Frogs and Toads
Frogs Toads
• Smooth or slimy skin• Lay eggs in clusters
• Usually live in or near water• Skinny bodies with long legs
• Move in leaps and jumps• Upper jaw with teeth
•Warty, dry skin•Lay eggs in long strands•Usually live on dry land
•Fat bodies with short legs•Move in short hops
•No teeth
Southern Leopard Frog American Bullfrog American ToadFowler’s Toad
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Wetlands• Frogs and toads need water to breed, so
FrogWatch USA data is collected at wetlands • Wetlands are defined by three characteristics:
– The presence of plants that are known to grow in saturated conditions
– Soils that lack oxygen
– Water at or near the surface during some part of the growing season.
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Types of Wetlands• Marshes
– Frequently covered in water; emergent soft-stemmed vegetation • Vernal pools
– Form in spring from melting snow or rains; often dry in summer • Swamps
– Saturated soil, sometimes with standing water; plant life dominated by woody plants
• Bogs– Include spongy peat, derive water from precipitation; highly acidic
waters support low plant diversity• Fens
– Like bogs, but also receive water from sources like groundwater, and therefore gain nutrients that support more diverse plant life
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Site Selection• Pre-registered by DEP:http://frogwatch.fieldscope.org/v3/maps/170
or https://mapsengine.google.com/map/u/0/edit?mid=z_UhZFkGrgBI.ky-l4pQ7jNMg
• Register your own:• Choose a site that is:
– Legally accessible!!! (must get letter of permission from property owner)
– Convenient to access– Quiet– Safe for data collection in the
evening
Wheaton Branch Regional Pond, Silver Spring
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Site Registration• Collect the following information about the site:
– Type of habitat– Origin of wetland– Source or origin of water– Permanence of water– Use of land adjacent to wetland– Use of land within wetland– Latitude and longitude
• Register site using FrogWatch FieldScope
Montgomery County Airpark Regional Pond, Gaithersburg
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Safety
• Anyone younger than 18 yrs, please visit your site with an adult
• Everyone should tell someone where you are going
• No monitoring during lighting and thunder
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Monitoring Protocol: Prior to Arrival at Site
• Practice identifying the calls• Ensure appropriate weather conditions for
monitoring:– Above 35 degrees Fahrenheit
– Not raining too hard, nor too windy
• Plan to monitor at least 30 minutes after sunset
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Monitoring Protocol: Prior to Arrival at Site
Prepare a monitoring equipment kit, to include:– Copy of Monitoring Protocol, datasheet for each visit– Clipboard– Pencil or indelible ink pen – Thermometer (Local Weather Report or other Weather App)– Stopwatch, Wristwatch, or Stopwatch App– One flashlight per person
– Cell phone– Written permission from property owner– Optional: Extra flashlight, field guide, tape recorder, camera, rain gear
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Monitoring Protocol:Upon Arrival
• On FrogWatch USA Datasheet…– Enter volunteer and site
information
– Record weather information required
Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks FrogWatch Chapter
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Required Weather Information• Air temperature• Wind speed (Beaufort Wind Scale)
0 – Calm: smoke rises vertically; 0 mph1 – Light air: rising smoke drifts; slight movement of air; 1-3 mph2 – Light breeze: leaves rustle; wind felt on face; 4-7 mph3 – Gentle breeze: leaves and twigs in constant motion; 8-12 mphToo windy to monitor:4 – Moderate breeze: moves small branches, dust, loose paper; 13-18
mph5 – Fresh breeze: small trees begin swaying; 19-24 mph
• Current precipitation
• 48 hour weather history
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Monitoring Protocol• 2 minute acclimation period• Listen quietly for precisely 3
minutes. • Listen to, identify, and
record all breeding calls occurring in the session on your datasheet.
• If the monitoring session is interrupted by noise, restart it, including the 2 minute acclimation period.
Sue Muller, Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks FrogWatch Chapter
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Calling Intensity
0 – No frogs or toads heard calling
1 – Individuals can be counted; there is space between calls
2 – Calls of individuals can be distinguished, but there is some overlapping of calls
3 – Full chorus, calls are constant, continuous, and overlapping
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Monitoring Protocol: Online Data Submission
• Enter data directly using FrogWatch FieldScope
http://frogwatch.fieldscope.org/v3• Retain all data sheets until given to DEP
(at field training)
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Next Steps for Volunteers1. Submit DEP forms today or via email. 2. Pick a monitoring site:
http://frogwatch.fieldscope.org/v3/maps/170
3. Study frog and toad calls: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DEP/water/frogs-and-toads.html Or
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/Plants_Wildlife/herps/Anura/fieldguide_OrderAnura.asp
3. Create a FieldScope username: http://frogwatch.fieldscope.org/v3
4. Monitor
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Questions??Resources:• Powerpoints: http://www.slideshare.net/FrogWatch • Montgomery County FrogWatch:
www.mygreenmontgomery.org/frogwatch• FrogWatch USA: http://www.aza.org/frogwatch/ • FieldScope Tutorials: http://www.aza.org/current-
frogwatch-volunteers/ • Fieldscope Data Entry:
http://frogwatch.fieldscope.org/v3