Welcome to the Montgomery County FrogWatch Chapter!

Website: www.mygreenmontgomery.org/frogwatch

Email: DEP.FrogWatch@montgomerycountymd.gov

Volunteer Training Session Topics

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

FrogWatch USA www.frogwatch.org

• The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) • Citizen Science• Collects data on frog and toad breeding calls• Hosted by local chapters• Began in 1998 - 15 years of data!

Benefits of the Data

• Describe local species diversity• Detect rare and invasive species• Suggest shifts in species diversity, range, and

phenology over time• Serve as an indicator of wetland health• Inform the development of land management

strategies

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

Volunteer Commitments • Must attend 2 volunteer

trainings– Today, Jan, 30th

– Field training in mid March

• Monitor a site for a 3 minute period weekly or otherwise confirmed by DEP

•Enter all data online using FieldScope

Cider Press/Gunner’s Branch Pond, Germantown

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Monitoring Protocol• 2 minute acclimation period• Listen quietly for precisely 3

minutes. • Listen to, identify, and

remember all breeding calls occurring in the session.

• If the monitoring session is interrupted by noise, restart it, including the 2 minute acclimation period.

• Record data

Sue Muller, Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks FrogWatch Chapter

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

Monitoring Protocol: Online Data Submission

• Enter data directly using FrogWatch FieldScope

http://frogwatch.fieldscope.org/v3/maps • Retain all data sheets until given to DEP

(at next training)

Next Steps for Volunteers1. Pick a monitoring site:

http://frogwatch.fieldscope.org/v3/maps/170 or https://mapsengine.google.com/map/u/0/edit?mid=z_UhZFkGrgBI.ky-l4pQ7jNMg

2. Study frog and toad calls: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DEP/water/frogs-and-toads.html

3. Create a FieldScope username: http://frogwatch.fieldscope.org/v3/maps

4. Monitor

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