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    Amphibian Survey and Monitoring Handbook
    Amphibian Survey and Monitoring Handbook
    Amphibian Survey and Monitoring Handbook
    Ebook205 pages2 hours

    Amphibian Survey and Monitoring Handbook

    By John W. Wilkinson

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    "Evidence bases for conservation are becoming increasingly important to convince landowners and politicians of the need to take action in defence of species and habitats all around the world. A valuable feature of this book is its emphasis on collecting and analysing such essential information." Trevor Beebee, Phyllomedusa

    Amphibians are among the most globally endangered groups of vertebrates with more than one-third of species being assessed as declining or threatened. Often, amphibian declines can be attributed to a suite of interacting factors, many of which are human in origin, but further information is needed to elaborate the key causes and to discover ways of reversing declines.

    Robust surveys provide vital ecological and biological data on amphibian populations, and underpin the decisions made to protect species and reverse their declines. Ongoing monitoring informs land managers and decision makers about whether they are taking the right action. This book is designed to help you carry out amphibian surveying and monitoring so that the results of your surveys can be used effectively.

    Part 1 introduces amphibians: order Anura (frogs and toads); Caudata (newts and salamanders); and order Gymnophonia (caecilians).

    Part 2 is essential reading before you start surveying. It introduces the different types of survey and monitoring programmes and discusses survey aims and resources. It contains chapters on collecting and handling survey data; survey permissions and licencing; health and safety, and biosecurity; and handling amphibians.

    Part 3 discusses everything you need to know during your survey, and provides a detailed look at amphibian survey methods.

    Part 4 covers presenting and using your survey’s data to best effect.

    A useful resources section is also provided, with example survey forms and details of additional information resources that will optimize the impacts of your surveys.

    Key amphibian survey techniques are discussed with reference to published examples of successful surveys – so you’ll be able to choose what’s right for your situation. Tips on optimizing your survey effort and handling amphibians in the field are also included. Whether carrying out a student expedition project or seeking information to support the management of a protected area, this book contains essential advice from an amphibian ecologist who has encountered the same sorts of decisions you’ll face when planning your surveys.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPelagic Publishing
    Release dateAug 17, 2015
    ISBN9781784270056
    Amphibian Survey and Monitoring Handbook
    Author

    John W. Wilkinson

    John W. Wilkinson is a conservation biologist specializing in studying and monitoring amphibians and reptiles. He started working with herpetofauna whilst an undergraduate and now nobody will give him a proper job. For eight years he was International Coordinator of the Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force and is currently Science Program Manager for the charity Amphibian and Reptile Conservation. John's PhD thesis was on toad conservation – it just made him realize how much more there is to find out...

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      Book preview

      Amphibian Survey and Monitoring Handbook - John W. Wilkinson

      Amphibian Survey and

      Monitoring Handbook

      Amphibian Survey and

      Monitoring Handbook

      John W. Wilkinson

      Pelagic Publishing | www.pelagicpublishing.com

      Published by Pelagic Publishing

      www.pelagicpublishing.com

      PO Box 725, Exeter EX1 9QU, UK

      Amphibian Survey and Monitoring Handbook

      ISBN 9781784270032 (Pbk)

      ISBN 9781784270049 (Hbk)

      ISBN 9781784270056 (ePub)

      ISBN 9781784270063 (Mobi)

      ISBN 9781784270742 (PDF)

      Copyright © 2015 John W. Wilkinson

      This book should be cited as Wilkinson, John W. (2015) Amphibian Survey and Monitoring Handbook. Exeter: Pelagic Publishing, UK.

      All rights reserved. No part of this document may be produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from the publisher. While every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Pelagic Publishing, its agents and distributors, will be held liable for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.

      British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      Cover images, top left: parsley frog (Pelodytes punctatus), Mark Barber; mid left: dip-netting, John W. Wilkinson; bottom left: western common toad (Bufo spinosus), John W. Wilkinson; top right: ©iStock.com/Kalawin; centre: Morogoro tree toad (Nectophrynoides viviparus), John W. Wilkinson; centre bottom: palmate newt (Lissotriton helveticus), John W. Wilkinson; bottom right: fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra), John W. Wilkinson.

      Typeset by Saxon Graphics Ltd, Derby

      For my Mom, Wendy, who became very good at

      rearing Dendrobates truncatus and could find room

      for 5,000 toad tadpoles at only a moment’s notice …

      Contents

      List of figures

      List of tables

      Foreword

      Preface

      Acknowledgements

      1Introducing amphibians

      1.1 Amphibian diversity

      1.2 Order Anura (frogs and toads)

      1.3 Order Caudata (newts and salamanders)

      1.4 Order Gymnophonia (caecilians)

      2Before you start surveying

      2.1 Types of survey

      2.2 Survey and monitoring programmes

      2.3 Survey aims and resources

      2.4 Collecting survey data

      2.5 Survey permissions and licences

      2.6 Health and safety, and biosecurity

      2.7 Handling amphibians

      3During your survey: amphibian survey methods

      3.1 Amphibian surveys in aquatic habitats

      3.2 Amphibian surveys in terrestrial habitats

      3.3 What other data should you collect?

      4After your survey

      4.1 Arranging your data for analysis

      4.2 Setting out your survey report

      4.3 Who needs to see your data and read your report?

      4.4 Taking amphibian studies further

      5Resources to help you

      5.1 Example survey forms

      5.2 Risk Assessments

      5.3 Guides to amphibian identification and ecology

      5.4 Other useful textbooks

      5.5 Equipment suppliers

      5.6 Amphibian study and conservation organizations and societies

      References

      Glossary

      Index

      List of figures

      List of tables

      Foreword

      A gleam on water. Light illuminates the surface to reveal two long strings of dots like necklaces of black pearls. Under a hefty stone on the gently sloping bank, a natterjack huddles down to get warmth from the surrounding sand. Beyond the bank, females have burrowed below the sparse turf awaiting the call to spawn. Away on pastoral farmland, tadpoles of the common toad have struggled from their spawn entwined around vegetation in deep pond water.

      You don’t need to go far to see such engaging creatures if you only stop to look, wait by a pond and see what happens. Return after dark with a good torch and see newts courting at the margins and, with luck, the great crested newt in full display: a waggling tail, a silver flash, a crest erect. But such fascinating creatures face a difficult future: humans drain the land, fill in ponds, build houses and intensify agriculture.

      Bodies like Amphibian and Reptile Conservation aim to conserve amphibians not just for their own sake but because they are part of the intricate web of biodiversity, in which all creatures play a part and enrich the quality of our lives, if only briefly.

      You can become involved and help amphibians. John Wilkinson details how to plan survey work, record and monitor the presence of species that will yield the information vital for conservation policy and practice. John’s lifelong experience and enthusiasm for amphibians shines through his book. So, read, enjoy, survey and thereby help give our amphibians a more secure future.

      John Buckley

      Amphibian Conservation Officer

      Amphibian and Reptile Conservation

      Boscombe 2015

      Preface

      By far the most effective way of conducting an amphibian survey would be to know from the start exactly what data you were going to generate and how you were going to use those data (having read every relevant publication and designed your survey protocols accordingly). Few of us, however, have that luxury for most of the time. The aim of this book is to set out the considerations and techniques needed for conducting amphibian surveys so that you will obtain data you can use. I have also used published amphibian survey studies as guiding examples and suggested further reading. With a little forethought, you can make your amphibian survey interesting, useful and effective in achieving its goals.

      What is covered?

      The Amphibian Survey and Monitoring Handbook is divided into three main chapters: covering before, during and after your survey. What questions do you need to ask before you start? How will you carry out the survey and what equipment will be needed? Having completed your survey, how will you arrange your data and what is the best way to tell everyone else what you’ve found out?

      Having read this far you have probably started to ask some of these questions: good! Use the sections of this book to make checklists of the resources and techniques you will use throughout your survey. When planning any kind of study or survey project, I start with a long list of notes and things to do, some of which need to be ticked off near the start and others of which can be dealt with as the survey progresses. As you become familiar with surveying amphibians (or if you already have some experience), your lists become shorter as you acquire the skills and equipment required. Good planning (and some flexibility!) goes a long way towards making your amphibian survey successful.

      As well as actual survey techniques, I have also included a section on handling amphibians. Believe it or not, I have in the past been asked to advise on ambitious and well-planned surveys of amphibians in remote parts of the world, by people who have never actually held a frog!

      What is not covered?

      This book does not cover species identification, though the different groups of amphibians are discussed in the first section. It is, however, very important to have a good idea of the range of species you are likely to encounter during your survey, so refer to one of the many excellent national and regional amphibian guides now available (see Chapter 5). Also, though I haven’t covered in detail all possible studies involving amphibians, some of these are discussed in Chapter 4. A huge variety of investigations can be carried out, and perhaps your amphibian surveys will inspire you to look more deeply into the biology of these intriguing animals.

      And finally…

      Most of my amphibian research and surveying has been carried out in the British Isles, where I live and work, so I have drawn on these experiences to populate the chapters of this book. I have, however, tried to include examples and illustrations from different parts of the world to illustrate important points. Many thousands of people around the world now conduct amphibian surveys, whether out of personal interest or for professional or academic reasons, and find it a fascinating and rewarding activity. I very much hope that you do too.

      John W. Wilkinson, Dorset 2015

      Acknowledgements

      Thanks to Mark Barber, Trevor Beebee, John Buckley, Emma Douglas, Dorothy Driver, Matt Ellerbeck, Tony Flashman, Georgia French, Mark Gardener, Tony Gent, David Gower, Stuart Graham, Peter Hill, Jim Labisko, Brett Lewis, Simon Maddock, Liam Russell, David Sewell, Rick Sharp, Thomas Starnes, Ben Tapley, Moacir Tinoco and David W. Williams, who provided comments, ideas, photographs, information or advice for these pages. Last but not least, I thank Nigel Massen and Thea Watson of Pelagic Publishing for their help and patience! Without the help of all these people, this book would not have been possible.

      1. Introducing amphibians

      Today’s amphibians are descended from the first terrestrial vertebrates that evolved from bony-finned fishes some 360 million years ago. A few tens of millions of years later, early amphibians gave rise to reptiles, and ultimately therefore to both birds and mammals. Your ancestors were amphibians!

      The majority of amphibians develop from gelatinous eggs laid in water, which hatch into aquatic larvae (tadpoles or polliwogs) and gradually metamorphose into terrestrial juveniles resembling the adults. Many species, however, have evolved variations on this theme. Some salamanders, for example, reach sexual maturity in their larval form and never attain true adulthood, and some frogs produce eggs within which the tadpole stage takes place, hatching into fully formed froglets. Still others undergo the typical

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