The Herpetology Program at the Florida Integrated Science Center has conducted research on reptiles and amphibians in the Southeastern United States and Caribbean over the last 30 years. The project began with studies that assessed status and distribution of amphibians and reptiles in threatened Florida biotic communities. Since then, our research has expanded to focus on the life histories, diversity, and importance of amphibians and reptiles in a wide variety of Southeastern and Caribbean ecosystems.

USGS/FISC scientists have pioneered the development of herpetofaunal community sampling techniques, now adopted throughout the world. Since the mid-1980s, research has centered on communities, guilds, and individual species, focusing especially on the status of Southeastern amphibians, the ecology of amphibians and reptiles inhabiting the endangered longleaf pine community of the Coastal Plain, the management and restoration of island herpetofaunas, and the life history of declining, endangered, and threatened species, including the federally protected Red Hills salamander, flattened musk turtle, and loggerhead sea turtle.

Our major current research project is the Southeastern Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative which includes monitoring amphibians on DOI properties throughout the southeastern United States and research on the factors which influence amphibian distribution and abundance.

Recent Publications

  Gregoire, D.R. 2005. Tadpoles of the Southeastern United States Coastal Plain.  United States Geological Survey Report. Florida Integrated Science Center. 60 pp.

Poster on the "Amphibians of Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge"
(7.6 mb PowerPoint file)

Monitoring Amphibians in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park
U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1258

Guidelines for building and operating remote field recorders
(automated frog call data loggers)