CHRONICLE TRIBUNE (Marion, Indiana) 02 January 05 Amphibian fans needed to monitor Indiana frog and toad populations
Speculation of a nationwide decline in frogs and toads has prompted the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to ask Hoosiers to leap into action.
The DNR is looking for volunteers to participate in the Indiana Amphibian Monitoring Program. Volunteers are needed to listen for frogs and toads from late February through July, the breeding seasons of Indiana's amphibians.
Surveys are conducted at night, usually after rainy days or on misty nights when frogs and toads give breeding calls. Information collected by volunteers will help DNR biologists better understand the distribution and abundance of amphibians in Indiana.
Volunteers must attend a training workshop in order to participate in the survey. Past participants are not required to attend. Each training workshop covers Indiana's 17 frog and toad species, these species calls and breeding habitats, survey set up, and recording data.
Registration is not required to attend a training workshop. Attendees are asked to bring pen and paper to the workshop. Participants must be 18 or older. Anyone interested in volunteering is urged to come to a workshop and sign up for a survey route.
INAMP is part of the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program, sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey. Two survey methods will be utilized this spring: national routes and stationary sites.
Amphibian fans needed to monitor Indiana frog and toad populations