ARMI monitoring and research in the Northeast Region (NE ARMI) is conducted from the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, MD. NE ARMI encompasses 13 states (CT, DE, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT, VA, WV) and the District of Columbia. The NE ARMI program is based on the ARMI three-tiered approach, with base-level monitoring sites, mid-level monitoring sites, and intensive sampling and research at apex sites. Information from NE ARMI surveys will be used to determine the proportion of surveyed areas occupied by various species of amphibians and to estimate amphibian population sizes and trends over time and space in relation to various environmental and landscape variables.

Base-level monitoring sites

Gibbs study (SUNY), NY. In 2001-2002, we helped fund a study by Dr. James Gibbs (State University of New York, SUNY) to repeat a frog and toad calling survey conducted from 1973-1980 in New York. Over 500 sites were visited at least once during the breeding season. The data will be used to determine whether anuran populations (Pseudacris crucifer, P. triseriata, Bufo americanus, Rana sylvatica, R. pipiens) have changed at these sites in New York and whether population changes are related to landscape and other environmental features.

Mid-level monitoring sites

NAAMP study, MD. In 2002, we evaluated the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program (NAAMP) frog and toad calling survey method using repeated sampling (3 times in each of 3 survey windows) at 17 routes in MD. These data will allow us to: 1) calculate anuran detection probabilities and relate these to environmental factors, 2) compare volunteer with professional data, and 3) relate species presence and site occupancy rates with landscape features.

Storm water pond study, MD. In 2002, we also initiated a storm water pond study repeatedly visiting all storm water retention ponds in Prince George’s County, MD (n = 21) to document amphibian presence. These ponds, located near highway, industrial and residential areas, were studied by Dr. Don Sparling in 1995. In collaboration with Drs. Sparling and Joel Snodgrass (Towson University), we will be determining metal levels in bullfrog and green frog tadpoles found at these ponds.

Apex sites

We are collaborating with 14 National Wildlife Refuges and 4 National Parks to conduct regional monitoring of vernal pool amphibians (wood frogs (R. sylvatica) and spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) using egg mass counts and a double observer dependent estimation technique at hand-selected sites. We are also collaborating with 4 National Parks, 5 National Wildlife Refuges and state stream monitoring programs in Maryland and West Virginia to survey stream salamanders using transect (removal estimation) and quadrat techniques. NE ARMI provides partners with funds, training and equipment to conduct these surveys. At Patuxent and Shenandoah, we are also conducting studies to: a) estimate juvenile and adult spotted salamander populations using capture-recapture methods (spot pattern recognition) with a drift fence-coverboard array, and b) determine potential effects of a prescribed burn and adding cover boards on terrestrial salamander populations. NE ARMI is also sponsoring two graduate students at the University of Maine-Orono (USGS Coop Unit) whose projects focus on 1) determining mercury levels in northern two-lined salamanders (Eurycea bislineata), and 2) characterizing four-toed salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum) nest site selection.

• National Parks National Wildlife Refuges
• Acadia National Park, ME Aroostook, ME
• Cape Cod National Seashore, MA Canaan Valley, WV
• Rock Creek Park, DC Erie, PA
• National Capital Parks East, DC Eastern Massachusetts, MA
• Shenandoah National Park, VA Great Swamp, NJ

• Others
• USDA BARC, MD
• MD Biological Stream Survey
• WV DEP Stream Survey

• National Wildlife Refuges
• Aroostook, ME
• Canaan Valley, WV
• Erie, PA
• Eastern Massachusetts, MA
• Great Swamp, NJ
• Iroquois, NY
• Lake Umbagog, NH
• Mississquoi, VT
• Moosehorn, ME
• Parker River, RI
• Patuxent Research Refuge, MD
• Rachel Carson, ME
• Supawna Meadows, NJ
• Wallkill River, NJ

RESULTS

Base-level monitoring

In 2001-2002, Dr. Gibbs and his graduate student surveyed all the sites that Dr. Scheuler visited in the 1970’s in New York. Calling surveys were conducted at 182 historical sites in 2001 and 109 historical sites in 2002. Based on 2001 data, approximately 10% of the wetland sites originally surveyed had been destroyed, primarily as a result of ditching in agricultural lands. Population decreases were evident in wood frogs (R. sylvatica), northern leopard frogs (Rana pipiens), spring peepers (Pseudacris crucifer) and western chorus frogs (P. triseriata).

Mid-level monitoring

We are currently writing a paper and analyzing data from the NAAMP study in collaboration with statistician Dr. J. Andrew Royle. We recorded 13 anuran species along NAAMP routes in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont regions of Maryland. Initial results show that different environmental factors (e.g., moon phase, sky code) are influencing detection probabilities for different species, and that site occupancy for certain species is strongly related to various percent land use and wetland types found within a 1 km radius area of the site.

The storm water pond study will be continued in 2003 by a graduate student under Dr. Joel Snodgrass at Towson University. Overall, we recorded 10 species at the storm water ponds and found fewer species at highway and commercial ponds compared to residential and reference ponds.

Apex sites

Egg mass counts of R. sylvatica and A. maculatum were conducted at 84 vernal pools in Northeast Parks and Refuges, and 204 ponds were repeatedly surveyed for species presence. We conducted stream salamander surveys at 52 streams in northeast Parks and Refuges as well as 76 streams in MD (2001-2002) and 32 streams in WV (2002). Results from the MD stream salamander survey were used to determine a stream salamander index of biotic integrity. Four salamander metrics (number of salamander species, numbers of salamanders, number of intolerant salamanders (all species except Eurycea bislineata), and number of adult salamanders) effectively distinguished reference from degraded stream sites. Percentage of forested land in the stream watershed was the most important variable explaining various salamander metrics. We continued an intensive study (A. maculatum egg mass, juvenile, and adult estimation) at Laura’s Pond at the USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center and found extremely low recruitment in 2002 compared to 2001. We documented a northern red salamander(Pseudotriton ruber) at Rock Creek Park that had not been reported there in 15 years.

PLANS FOR 2003

We will continue all mid-level and apex monitoring site work described above. However, in 2003, we will select vernal pools at Parks and Refuges based on a random grid system, which will allow mid-level analyses. We will initiate a new study using a retrospective analysis to determine if R. sylvatica populations have changed at a USDA site monitored from 1976-1980. We also plan to begin work with Montgomery County in Maryland to: 1) identify and survey vernal pools in the county as a pilot project for the state of Maryland, and 2) survey streams and vernal pools in an area prior to, during and after the establishment of an extensive development.

STAFF
Robin E. Jung, Ph.D., USGS, PWRC
Priya Nanjappa, M.S., USGS, PWRC
Isaac Chellman, USGS, PWRC
Lindsay Funk, USGS, PWRC

COLLABORATORS & PARTNERS
Karen Rice, USGS Water Resources Division
Andy Royle, USFWS, Patuxent Research Refuge
John Sauer & Jim Nichols, USGS, PWRC
David Green, USGS National Wildlife Health Center
Jan Taylor & National Wildlife Refuge Biologists, US Fish and Wildlife Service
Robert Cook, Jim Atkinson, Bill Yeaman, Bruce Connery, National Park Service
Cyndy Loftin, University of Maine-Orono
Mark Southerland, Versar, Inc.
Tom Pauley, Marshall University
James Gibbs, SUNY
Harry Tiebout, West Chester University
Joel Snodgrass, Towson University

NE ARMI Web Site

http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/nearmi/

PRODUCTS

Publications

Jung, R.E., G.H. Dayton, S.J. Williamson, J.R. Sauer, and S. Droege. 2002. An evaluation of population index and estimation techniques for tadpoles in desert pools. Journal of Herpetology 36:465-472.

Jung, R.E., K.E. Bonine, M.L. Rosenshield, A. de la Reza, S. Raimondo, and S. Droege. 2002. Evaluation of canoe surveys for anurans along the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park, Texas. Journal of Herpetology 36:390-397.

Southerland, M.S., R.E. Jung, D.P. Baxter, I.C. Chellman, G. Mercurio, and J.H. Volstad. In review. Stream salamanders as indicators of stream quality in Maryland. Ecological Applications.

Presentations

Bank, M.S., T.A. Haines, C.S. Loftin, and R.E. Jung. 2002. Evaluating the use of two-lined salamanders as eco-indicators of mercury loadings in headwater stream ecosystems: a regional perspective. Poster. National Park Service Air Quality Summit 2002 “Responding to Change,” October 21-21, 2002, Estes Park, CO. (Poster presented by Bob Breen, Acadia National Park).

Bank, M.S., T.A. Haines, C.S. Loftin, and R.E. Jung. 2002. Relative density and mercury contamination of two-lined salamanders from Acadia National Park, Maine: GIS applications. Talk. Maine Water Conference, May 9, 2002, Augusta, ME.

Bank, M.S., T.A. Haines, C.S. Loftin, and R.E. Jung. 2002. Relative density and mercury contamination of two-lined salamanders from Acadia National Park, Maine. Talk. 58th Northeast Fish and Wildlife Conference, April 24, 2002, Portland, ME.

Jung, R.E., M.S. Bank, K.C. Rice, M.T. Southerland, and D. Sparling. 2002. Amphibian-stressor investigations as part of the U.S. Geological Survey Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative in the Northeastern United States. Poster. Symposium on Multiple Stressor Effects in Relation to Declining Amphibian Populations. American Society for Testing and Materials, April 16-17, 2002, Pittsburgh, PA.