Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
NAAMP III Archive - accepted papers
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Patuxent
Wildlife Research Center
NAAMP III Archive
- accepted papers
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by Alphabetical Order | Archive by Category
The Marsh Monitoring Program was established in 1995 to aid in the conservation
and rehabilitation of marshes in the United States and Canada by studying population
changes and habitat requirements of marsh birds and amphibians. The MMP is a
cooperative project of the Long Point Bird Observatory (LPBO) and the Canadian
Wildlife Service. The program receives support from Environment Canada's Great
Lakes 2000 Cleanup Fund and from the U.S. Great Lakes Protection Fund. Special
emphasis is placed on the 43 Areas of Concern (AOCs) which have been identified
by the International Joint Commission as being in urgent need of remediation.
However, marshes throughout Ontario and the eight Great Lakes states are being
monitored.
The MMP will culminate in a baseline survey and analysis of marsh bird and
amphibian populations at sites where rehabilitation and restoration efforts
have taken place or are planned, at wetlands within AOC watersheds and at other
wetlands within the Great Lakes Basin. A network of volunteers will be established
and an implementation strategy to ensure long-term viability of the program
will be developed. The information gathered by the program will be used, in
part, to assess the progress and success of marsh rehabilitation efforts, especially
those in the Areas of Concern.
In 1995, amphibian surveys were conducted at 476 stations on 127 routes; 87
routes were established in Ontario and 40 routes were established in the United
States. Twenty-two routes were established in AOCs in the United States and
32 routes were established in AOCs in Ontario. Surveys were conducted on 18
routes in non-AOC marshes in the U.S. and 55 routes were established in non-AOC
areas in Ontario.
Twelve of the 13 species of frog and toad found in the Great Lakes Basin were
detected. While most of the amphibian species monitored were found less frequently
in the marshes sampled in AOCs than in the non-AOCs, significant differences
were found for only two species: Gray Treefrog and Wood Frog. The presence of
eight species was strongly correlated with certain habitat parameters.Most of
the habitat parameters sampled were more or less equally represented in AOC
and non-AOC marshes. Much more work needs to be done in this regard, but preliminary
results tend to support the contention that comparisons between AOCs and non-AOCs
are valid, at least from a habitat perspective.
The analyses presented here are preliminary. More definitive analyses will be completed using the 1995 and 1996 data. The end product of these analyses will be a series of "State of Their Environment" reports for AOCs. In addition, differences between AOC and non-AOC marshes must be considered preliminary since the non-AOC routes are not necessarily representative of all potential non-AOC marshes. A statistically sound procedure for selecting routes needs to be developed, bearing in mind constraints of volunteer availability and marsh access. The representativeness of existing routes must then be examined.
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U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Laurel, MD, USA 20708-4038
http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/naamp3/naamp3.html
Contact: Sam Droege, email: Sam_Droege@usgs.gov
Last Modified: June 2002