Are you interested in getting involved?
No prior experience needed!
Flexible time commitment!
Help as you can- we have surveys ranging from 15 min per month (i.e. listen to frogs while walking your dog!) to 2-3 hours per month (i.e. call surveys + larval or water quality measures)!
Training protocols are available online and we are also happy to provide in person training
Steps to getting involved:
2. With your local Friends group, identify a survey you're interested in
Estimated time commitment per survey listed below but you are always welcome to do more!
Help us protect WI's amphibian populations by learning to identify frog calls, listening at local ponds for these calls, and recording when and where they are calling! The best time to conduct this survey is in the evening!
Help us understand what lives in the water with amphibian by surveying local ponds for the larval stages of amphibians and invertebrates! This will require two back to back sessions- invertebrate trap placement and trap removal.
Help us understand a little more about the water that amphibian are living it (temperature, dissolved oxygen)? Is it contaminated with road salt? This is a quick water test using strips.
Diseases are a major threat to amphibians. Help us by keeping an eye out for disease mortality events by walking the perimeter of ponds and looking for signs of disease outbreak.
3. Become familiar with the survey protocols
Protocols available online or you can request in person training from experienced Friends or Hua lab members
LINK TO PROTOCOLS HERE - remember YOU DO NOT need to be an expert. Any bit helps!
ENTER DATA HERE
4. Head out to the field when its convenient for you to conduct your survey!
Feel free to head out alone if you prefer (i.e. if you do surveys while out with family/walking pets) but if you prefer a friend, ask your local Friends group! They will have a buddy/accountability system too!
Q&A
Question 1. I have an old water probe from previous years for measureing water quality. Can I still use it?
Answer: In 2024, we are trying to transition to focus on conductivity by using water strips (check out the protocols). However, while we won't be using the old probes for our official data collection, please feel free to use it for your group's water quality measures! We are happy to calibrate it for you! Keep an eye out for an email or reach out, we will have drop off dates throughout the summer!
Question 2. Do I need to be an expert or need training to participate?
Answer: No :D! Check out the online protocols- these are meant to be accessible. After reading them, feel free to contribute data to which ever you feel comfortable with! Absolutely feel free to participate while out doing other tasks (walking dogs, family walks, sporting events, etc).
Question 3. For the frog call surveys, if I hear multiple frog species calling at the same time how do i report call indices?
Answer: Please indicate which species you heard calling and then in the notes section the call index (1,2, or 3) for each species. For example, if you heard chorus frogs and American toads calling select the check box for both these species. Then in the notes indicate: Chorus frogs 3; toads 2.
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Question 4. For the frog call survey, do I need to submit my data right away in the field?
Answer: No, you are more than welcome to collect your data on paper and complete and submit the google form once you return home. Please remember to note your coordinates, temperature, weather conditions, and take your 1 min audio OR video recording while out in the field using your smart phone to upload later. A photo is nice but NOT necessary here (this is more important for the larval surveys).
Question 5. If I only have the location and frog call identification data to submit and cannot fill out the rest of the call survey google form (temperature, weather, etc), is my data still helpful?
Answer: Yes! While we appreciate all the parts of the google form to be filled out, if you are confident in your identifications frog calls and call index, have a recording of the calls, know your location, please still fill out the form on what you detected.
If you have more questions, please feel free to contact us!