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On May 29, 2014 ARMI biologists Adam Backlin and Elizabeth Gallegos, alongside partners Frank Santana from the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research and Ian Recchio and Marlowe Robertson-Billet from the LA Zoo and Botanical Gardens, will be releasing 74 captive bred juvenile endangered mountain yellow-legged frogs [Rana muscosa] into the wild in the San Jacinto Mountains, near Idyllwild, CA. Mountain yellow-legged frogs are endangered in southern California and live in perennial streams in portions of the San Gabriel, San Bernardino, and San Jacinto Mountains. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the mountain yellow-legged frog in southern California as endangered in 2002. Reduced to fewer than 200 individuals by 2003, efforts to boost the species’ population have included captive breeding, reintroducing captive offspring to historic habitat, habitat restoration and conducting scientific research into the causes of the species’ decline. This is a joint project conducted by U.S.G.S., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Forest Service, and zoo partners. Contact: Benjamin Landis for more information.

The Des Moines Lobe of central Iowa has undergone drastic land-use changes over the last two centuries, with 90% of the state’s wetlands converted primarily by agricultural practices and urban development. The introduction of tile drainage to improve land for agriculture facilitated this conversion and still contributes to the productivity of this agricultural landscape. Consequently, natural wetland habitat has become rare and fragmented, affecting species with limited mobility, such as amphibians. Amphibians are an important component of these wetland systems where they provide food for other animals and eat copious amounts of insects. However, many amphibian species are at risk world-wide and some are at risk in Iowa.

While loss of habitat is the main reason behind amphibian decline, in the Des Moines Lobe, amphibians are further challenged by an environment potentially compromised by contaminants and their limited mobility exacerbates the effects of habitat fragmentation.

In response to observed ecosystem degradation in environmentally sensitive areas the USDA introduced the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) to target high-priority conservation issues. In the year 2001, the state of Iowa partnered with USDA and developed a CREP to strategically locate and restore wetlands on private land that receive run-off from multiple sub-surface tile drains to help reduce the export of nitrates from agricultural watersheds before the water reaches the Mississippi River and the Gulf of America. Although CREP wetlands are intended primarily to reduce nitrogen to protect drinking water and reduce hypoxia in the Gulf of America, they provide other ecosystem services such as providing wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities. For example, CREP wetlands and their adjoining grass buffers provide forage and cover for waterfowl and upland game.

For complete article, see here: https://www.fort.usgs.gov/science-feature/890

During a routine scheduled recording in February of 2012, a non-amphibian resident of the forest walked past a recorder. Recent analysis of the recording revealed the interesting find.

ARMI uses automated recording units to monitor calling frogs and toads in the Picayune Strand State Forest of Southwest Florida. This state forest, once a failed residential development project known as the Southern Golden Gates Estates, is undergoing hydrological restoration as part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. Scientists from the Southeast and Southcentral ARMI Regions are testing the idea that amphibians are reliable indicators of restoration success. The sound you hear was confirmed by experts from Big Cypress National Preserve to be the yowling call of a female Florida Panther, possibly signalling to potential mates.

Audio:[AUDIO]FAKA08_20120206.wav[/AUDIO]