- FWS photo

The first year of field work on the Lake Superior Basin Herptile Monitoring Program has now been completed. Steve Hecnar from Lakehead University in Ontario, and Gary Casper lead the project which developed and is field testing a basin-wide amphibian and reptile monitoring program and data repository process.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Ashland Fishery Resources Office has been involved in this process through its role on the Binational Program’s Lake Superior Work Group.

Representative sampling sites in both the Canadian and United States portions of the Lake Superior basin were selected and are being sampled for two field seasons.  Components of the project include sampling site selection, intensive surveys, database development and statistical analyses.  Results will be applicable throughout the Lake Superior basin for use in amphibian and reptile habitat protection and restoration.  The ability will be established to monitor 21 herptile species and determine trends in species occupancy.  The ability to detect species declines or increases will have direct bearing on both aquatic and terrestrial habitat management for these species within the basin’s forests, grasslands, wetlands, lakes and streams.

The southern sampling area selected was centered on Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Munising, Michigan. Sampling sites were selected in April and included: 5 upland sites for snakes (10 cover objects per site), 3 temporary ponds for amphibians (10 minnow traps per site), 3 semi-permanent to permanent ponds for amphibians and turtles (10 minnow traps and 3 hoop nets per site), and 3 lakes for amphibians and turtles (10 minnow traps and 6 hoop nets per site  The sampling periods were April 23 - May 6, May 14-20, May 26 - June 3, and July 3-15. We had good results with all methods (plywood cover objects, hoop net traps, aquatic funnel trapping, auditory surveys, and visual searches). While data analyses have not yet begun, adequate sampling was most likely achieved for the following target species for the south shore: eastern newt, spotted salamander, blue-spotted salamander, eastern red-backed salamander, eastern American toad, northern spring peeper, eastern gray treefrog, northern green frog, wood frog, snapping turtle, painted turtle, smooth greensnake, northern red-bellied snake, and common gartersnake. Mink frogs and northern leopard frogs were also detected but were very rare and may not have been adequately sampled.

The northern sampling area selected was within the district of Thunder Bay, Ontario.  Site selection was finalized in late April, students were trained from May 01-12 and sampling began on the 13^th of May.  The number and type of sampling sites chosen met or exceeded our study design: 5 upland sites for snakes (10 cover objects per site), 3 temporary ponds for amphibians (10 minnow traps per site), 3 semi-permanent to permanent ponds for amphibians and turtles (10 minnow traps and 3 hoop nets per site), and 3 lakes for amphibians and turtles (10 minnow traps and 6 hoop nets per site).  One additional upland site (Kakabeka Falls) was added for salamander visual encounter surveys.  Two additional temporary pond sites (Shuniah Hydroline, Cascade) were added for frog calls only and an additional permanent pond (Creek Pond) for turtle trapping only.  The sampling periods were May 13-26, May 29-June 11, June 19-July 02, and July 10-July 23.  We were able to over-sample (more than 5 times) all sites for auditory surveys in the first sampling period.  Minimum required sampling of 5 times was achieved for all methods in each of their respective sampling periods.  Access to one temporary site was temporarily closed because of an injured bear on site but the crew able to complete the required number of surveys within the time period.  There were good results for auditory surveys, aquatic funnel trapping and hoop net traps.  Visual encounter surveys and plywood cover objects detected few target organisms.  Data analysis has not yet begun but adequate sampling was most likely achieved for the following target species for the north shore: eastern red-backed salamander, American toad, spring peeper, boreal chorus frog, eastern gray treefrog, green frog, mink frog, wood frog, and painted turtle.  The eastern newt, blue-spotted salamander, eastern gartersnake, and snapping turtle were also detected but may not have been adequately sampled because of their rarity.  Abundance of these species in the northern part of the basin may preclude them from adequate sampling.  The remaining target species were not present in the sampling area.  At the conclusion of sampling trips were made to the eastern portion of the basin and checked potential sites for 2007 sampling in Pukaskwa National Park and Lake Superior Provincial Park.

Over the next few months sampling area and site selections for 2007, recruitment of field staff, preliminary data analyses, and database development will take place.  Some preliminary findings were presented October 2006, at the Canadian Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Network annual conference in Victoria, BC.  It is believed that so far the project has documented some highly effective sampling techniques for several species, but this will not be known conclusively until statistical analyses are complete.  Likewise, detection overlaps of several methods for various species and regional differences in detection are becoming evident.  Determining how to maximize efficiency by selecting suites of methods and target species will be addressed in the final report.

Reptiles and amphibians were identified as critical groups of species to be monitored by the State of the Lake Ecosystem Conference and the Lakewide Management Plan (LaMP) 2000, and many are in decline worldwide.  Lake Superior is at the northern edge of the natural range of many herptile species and thus changes in their abundance in the basin may be indicative of pending environmental changes elsewhere.  They may also be particularly useful for monitoring in the Areas of Concern to document progress in remediation and restoration.  The work presently being conducted will make great strides in achieving goals outlined within the LaMP and benefit herptile species and their habitat throughout the Lake Superior basin.