THE MARYLAND AMPHIBIAN & REPTILE ATLAS A VOLUNTEER-BASED DISTRIBUTIONAL SURVEY Maryland Amphibian & Reptile Atlas
GLOBAL DECLINE OF AMPHIBIANS & REPTILES Amphibians 30% Salamanders 49% Frogs 29% Reptiles 21% Turtles 62% Snakes & Lizards 21% Birds 12.3% Mammals 26% 2010 Source: IUCN 2010 Red List Summary Statistics http://www.iucnredlist.org/documents/summarystatistics/2010_4rl_stats_table_4a.pdf
AMPHIBIAN & REPTILE DIVERSITY Map of Amphibian Diversity Global = 6,600+ species US = ~295 species MD = 41 species Map of Reptile Diversity Global = 6,000+ species US = ~316 species MD = 52 species
REPTILE DIVERSITY Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Distribution 320 turtle species world-wide (from Peter Paul van Dijk, Conservation International) 57 (20% of the world's turtle species) are found in the US and Canada
Amphibians and reptiles face serious conservation pressures. Knowledge of current distribution patterns is vital for long-term conservation of amphibians and reptiles. Photographs by Heather Cunningham
MARYLAND AMPHIBIAN & Co-sponsors REPTILE ATLAS Natural History Society of Maryland Maryland Department of Natural Resources Last publication on the distribution of Maryland s herpetofauna was published in 1975 Photograph by Lance Benedict
GOALS Document the statewide distribution of Maryland s amphibians and reptiles using a systematic and repeatable approach Find rare species locations for future conservation efforts Raise public awareness about the importance and value of this group of organisms
1983-1987 2002-2006
COORDINATION Steering Committee Statewide Coordinator Lower Shore Herp Atlas training session Annual Meeting County Coordinators
SURVEY METHODS Grid-based system using U.S. Geological Survey 7.5 minute quadrangles with each divided into six blocks. 260 Quads & 1,441 blocks (1,293 land blocks) Google Earth Smartphone App
COVERAGE GOALS 10 species per Atlas block & 25 species per Atlas quad OR 25 hours per Atlas quad Photograph by Matthew Kirby
DATA COLLECTION Citizen scientists can collect data in two ways Observer Opportunistic sightings Surveyor Active searches Photographs are encouraged for all submissions but are not a requirement for all species. Audio recordings of frog calls are also accepted.
RESOURCES Overview MARA Website Electronic newsletters Training manual Activity calendars Brochure Flyer
SOCIAL MEDIA 1,191 unique viewers 991 unique viewers 657 unique viewers https://www.facebook.com/mdherpatlas
COORDINATED SEARCHES NHSM
CURRENT RESULTS Records per person range from 1 2,034 695 volunteers submitted 1-10 sightings 42 volunteers submitted100+ sightings (76% of records) Quads per person 1-100 853 volunteers visited 1-10 quads Blocks per person 1-379 820 volunteers visited 1-10 blocks 281 participants recorded active search hours Hours searching per person range from.25-625 hours 51participants searched from 50+hours
27,377 total records 13,760 with vouchers Research Year Total Sightings 2009 466 2010 7015 2011 7486 2012 6639 2013 5769 2014 2 24,145.34 total hours Research Year Person-Hours 2009 487.96 2010 5393.16 2011 7395.49 2012 6327.30 2013 4541.43
OVERALL QUAD COVERAGE 246 quads 245 quads have data 99 % have data 63 % have 25+ species 75 % have 25+ hours
OVERALL BLOCK COVERAGE 1,293 total blocks 1,221 blocks with data 94 % with data 72 % of blocks with 10+ species
CONTRIBUTION OF TAXONOMIC GROUPS Photograph by Bonnie Ott
HIGHLIGHTS Maryland s rare, threatened, and endangered species Coal Skink Allegany County Photograph by Ed Thompson Rainbow Snake Charles County Photograph by Lance Benedict Northern Scarletsnake Howard County Photograph by Kevin Crocetti Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad St. Mary s County Photograph by Kyle Rambo Northern Map Turtle Harford County Photograph by Scott McDaniel
Mountain Earthsnake Garrett County Photograph by Bill Hubick Barking Treefrog Kent County Photograph by Kyle Loucks Timber Rattlesnake Frederick County Photograph by Heather Cunningham Jefferson Salamander Montgomery County Photograph by Rachel Gauza Eastern Tiger Salamander Kent County Photograph by Kyle Loucks
NON-NATIVE SPECIES 75 reports of non-native species from 62 blocks Mediterranean House Gecko Cecil County Photograph by Carrie Samis American Alligator Carroll County Photograph by Samantha Good Northwest Salamander Calvert County Photograph by Melissa Kapper Florida Softshell Baltimore County Photograph by Bernard Butrim California Kingsnake Howard County Photograph by Peter Pavlov
HOW TO GET INVOLVED? Submit any and all amphibian and reptile sightings! Date, location, photos (if possible) http://marylandnature.org/submit-observation/ hcunningham@marylandnature.org hcunningham@umes.edu
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS All citizen scientists who generously donated time to the MARA project MARA Project Planning Committee MARA County Coordinators MARA Verification Panel Landowners who granted access to land for surveys Grants provided, in part, by State Wildlife Grant funds provided to the state wildlife agencies by US Congress and administered through the Maryland Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife and Heritage Service. Grant also received from Maryland Coastal Bays Program.
FINDING OUT MORE.. MARA website www.marylandnature.org/mara Contact hcunningham@marylandnature.org marshhawk67@gmail.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/mdherpatlas NHSM Meetup Site www.meetup.com/marylandnature