A VOLUNTEER-BASED

DISTRIBUTIONAL SURVEY

THE MARYLAND AMPHIBIAN & REPTILE ATLAS

Maryland Amphibian & Reptile Atlas

GLOBAL DECLINE OF AMPHIBIANS & REPTILES

•Amphibians 30% • Salamanders 49%

• Frogs 29%

•Reptiles 21% • Turtles 62%

• Snakes & Lizards 21%

2010 Source: IUCN 2010 Red List Summary Statistics

http://www.iucnredlist.org/documents/summarystatistics/2010_4RL_Stats_Table_4a.pdf

•Birds 12.3%

•Mammals 26%

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

Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Distribution

(from Peter Paul van Dijk, Conservation International)

REPTILE DIVERSITY

320 turtle species world-wide

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 & REPTILE ATLAS

• Co-sponsors

• 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

County Coordinators

Lower Shore Herp Atlas training session

Annual Meeting

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

• 10 species per Atlas block &

• 25 species per Atlas quad OR

• 25 hours per Atlas quad

Photograph by Matthew Kirby

COVERAGE GOALS

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

MARA Website

Electronic newsletters

Flyer

Overview

Training manual

Activity calendars

Brochure

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

• 24,145.34 total hours

Research Year Total Sightings

2009 466

2010 7015

2011 7486

2012 6639

2013 5769

2014 2

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

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

Maryland’s rare, threatened, and endangered species

Barking Treefrog Kent County Photograph by Kyle Loucks

Timber Rattlesnake Frederick County Photograph by Heather Cunningham

Mountain Earthsnake Garrett County Photograph by Bill Hubick

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