Overview
The
Department of the Interior's US Geological Survey Amphibian Research and Monitoring
Initiative (ARMI) is designed to determine where populations of amphibians
are present, to monitor specific Apex populations, and to investigate potential
causes of amphibian declines, diseases, and malformations. The Northeast Region
of ARMI encompasses thirteen states (Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia) and the District of Columbia. Dr. Larissa Bailey
at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland, coordinates
ARMI activities in the Northeast by conducting and developing amphibian research
and monitoring projects.
The ARMI program is based on a three-tiered approach, with extensive broad scale sampling, mid-level sampling, and intensive sampling and research at Apex Sites. Information from surveys in the Northeast will be used to determine the proportion of surveyed areas that are occupied by various species of amphibians and to estimate amphibian population sizes and trends over space and time.