MONITORING FROGS, TOBDS, SALAHBNDERS, AND SNAKES by J. Dan McAskill 
     
    
   
   
    
     Introduction: 
     
    

    
     Environmentalists around the world have recently become concerned over 
     
     declines in the populations of many amphibians (frogs, toads, salamanders, and 
     
     newts). In response to a call for amphibian surveys, representatives of the 
     
     Natural History Society, the Environmental Coalition of P.E.I., the P.E.I. 
     
     Fish and Wildlife Division, the P.E.I. National Park, and Holland College 
     
     Summerside organized the Island's Amphibian Monitoring Committee during the 
     
     winter of 1992-93. Upon reviewing available information, it was quickly 
     
     apparent that we did not have sufficient data to determine what was happening 
     
     with either our amphibian or reptile populations. Thus, in the spring of 
     
     1993, the Natural History Society of Prince Edward Island Ltd. with assistance 
     
     from the Souris and Area Wildlife Federation, the Friends of MacPhail, 
     
     Provincial Parks staff at Mill River and the other members of the Amphibian 
     
     Monitoring Committee organized training sessions for volunteer monitors at 
     
     Souris, Orwell, and Mill River. It is hoped that the volunteers who are or 
     
     become involved in this project will be able to provide the necessary 
     
     information on the distribution and abundance of our frogs, toads, 
     
     salamanders, and snakes. As those participating in these surveys must be 
     
     familiar with the sound and/or sight identification of our native amphibians 
     
     and reptiles, the Society provided copies of an audio-cassette on frog and 
     
     toad calls and a slide show on all known amphibians and reptiles as well as 
     
     potential other species that might have been missed in previous surveys. This 
     
     special issue of the Island Naturalist is another facet of this training 
     
     program and will allow all Society members to contribute their sightings. 
     
    

    
     The objective in the initial year of the project is develop an 
     
     occurrence map for the various species of frogs and toads and to start the 
     
     collection of sighting reports on salamanders and snakes. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Techniques: 
     
    

    
     The volunteers who participate in the project can be involved either in 
     
     monitoring ponds within hearing distance of their home, in monitoring three to 
     
     five ponds along an assigned road route near their home, or in recording 
     
     observations or calls while fishing or walking near wetland habitats. The 
     
     participants in the first two types of sound surveys will have to devote part 
     
     of three evenings of their time, one during the first two weeks in May, one in 
     
     the second two weeks in May, and the third in mid-June. Casual one time 
     
     observations from trout or salmon fishers and naturalists will also be 
     
     recorded so that as complete a distribution map as possible can be constructed 
     
     for these species on the Island (refer to recording form on page 15). 
     
    

    
     Casual sighting reports are also encouraged for frogs, toads, 
     
     salamanders, and snakes so that better information can be obtained on their 
     
     distribution on the Island, the types of vegetation in which they occur at 
     
     various times of the year, and areas where they congregate to overwinter or 
     
     breed. Warm, wet rainy nights in spring are excellent for checking known 
     
     amphibian road crossing points near marshes and sunny, cool fall days are 
     
     ideal for checking rock and wood piles for snakes. Remember to wear high 
     
     visibility clothing if you are walking along or standing near a road, 
     
     especially on a wet night. For sighting reports, record the actual number 
     
     seen and as much information on the habitat as possible. 
     
    

    
     The information collected by the volunteer monitors will be plotted 
     
     using map coordinates and computers. The participants will be supplied a 
     
     photocopy of the appropriate map on which they can mark the sample site and 
     
     this will be converted into a set of coordinates for entry into a geographic 
     
     information system data base to generate occurrence maps. 
     
    
   
   
    
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