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Spring 2024 |
Newsletter Archive |
Amphibian Monitoring in Rocky View and Foothills County |  |
Amphibians are one of the most imperiled species assemblages with diversity and abundance declines reported globally. Similar to elsewhere, amphibians in Alberta face challenges due to habitat loss, pollution, climate change and disease. We are monitoring amphibians in Rocky View and Foothills County (both border the City of Calgary) to improve our understanding on which species occur in the region, and to identify high valued habitat and amphibian movement patterns. We aim to inform municipal planning related to maintaining healthy wetland networks. Historically, in the region, six amphibian species have been reported including northern leopard frog, boreal chorus frog, wood frog, Canadian toad, western toad, and western tiger salamander. To determine which species are still present and where we are using two methods of data collection, environmental DNA (eDNA) where we collect water samples from wetlands, and a subsequent lab analysis determines if an amphibian species are present, and autonomous recording units (ARUs) which record amphibian calls and are later analysed to identify amphibian presence at a wetland. We also document amphibian observations and calls during field visits as supporting information. We are partnered with Alberta Inno Tech and A/Vian Ecological Consulting Ltd. to support the identification of amphibian species. During our first year we sampled 24 wetlands in Rocky View County and documented locations with wood frog, boreal chorus and western toad. The eDNA results are currently preliminary so final species list is not conclusive. Our next field season will focus on Foothills County and two Mount Royal University students will be supporting the field work. We hosted a citizen science cafe in March 2024 in Airdrie to share preliminary findings, thank you for all that attended. We are grateful for the support of private landowners who allowed us to sample their wetlands. We would also like to thank The Calgary Foundation and TD Friends of the Environment for their generous financial support. | |