Big Bend National Park Project Goals

• Evaluate precision, bias (e.g., observer bias) and efficiency of various sampling methods for amphibians.
• Conduct validation studies to determine the relationship between capture indices and adjusted population estimates using capture-recapture (e.g., tadpole dying, elastomer marking of adults).
• Assess spatial and temporal variation in amphibian populations at springs (spring surveys), along the Rio Grande (night canoe surveys), and along roads (night driving) and analyze distribution and abundance of amphibians from these surveys in relation to environmental variables.
• Document contaminant levels in bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) collected from sites along the Rio Grande.
• Document chorusing phenology at springs, tinajas, tanks, and flats after rains using frogloggers (automated tape recording devices) and chorus surveys.
• Assist in metapopulation genetic studies of amphibians.
• Experimentally test the effects of ultraviolet radiation on amphibian development in the field.

PRIMENet Amphibian Monitoring Program Homepage

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