frogwatch volunteer training session 2016

25
Welcome to the Montgomery County FrogWatch Chapter! Website: www.mygreenmontgomery.org/frogwatch Email: [email protected]

Upload: mcdep

Post on 22-Jan-2018

190 views

Category:

Environment


3 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

Welcome to the Montgomery County FrogWatch Chapter!

Website: www.mygreenmontgomery.org/frogwatch

Email: [email protected]

Page 2: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

Agenda

• FrogWatch USA and Montgomery County• Volunteer Commitments• Amphibians and wetlands• Monitoring Protocols• Data Entry using FieldScope• Local frogs and toads

Page 3: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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

Page 4: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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!

Page 5: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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

Page 6: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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

Page 7: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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

Page 8: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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

Page 9: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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

Page 10: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

Lets Play a Game!

Frog or Toad?

Page 11: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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

Page 12: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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.

Page 13: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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

Page 14: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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

Page 15: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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

Page 16: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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

Page 17: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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

Page 18: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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

Page 19: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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

Page 20: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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

Page 21: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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

Page 22: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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

Page 23: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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)

Page 24: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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

Page 25: FrogWatch Volunteer training session 2016

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