WETLAND WILDLIFE SURVEY

Objectives

• Monitor the status of various wetland wildlife taxa to determine the health of a man-made on-campus wetland
  
• Learn how to identify local wildlife species
  
• Learn how to analyze data and graphically present results
  

Protocol

• Students will visit the wetland site once every 2 weeks during each semester
  
• During each visit, students will be divided into and work as teams.
  
• Each team will be responsible for one taxonomic group (small fish <10 cm total length, frogs, or birds)
  
• Each team will focus on a different taxonomic group during each visit.
  
• Fish monitoring
  
• -Twelve fixed monitoring sites will be established around the perimeter of the wetland.
  
• -Monitoring sites will be separated from each other by at least 50 meters.
  
• -Monitoring sites will be clearly marked by wooden posts approximately 2 feet high.
  
• At each site, a 1/8 inch mesh steel minnow trap (Memphis Net & Twine Co.) will be placed in shallow water (10–15cm deep).
  
• Traps will be put in place at approximately 9 am on each sampling day. This is the job of members of the fish team.
  
• Traps will be checked later in the day when the team returns to the wetland. Traps must be checked at approximately the same time of day during each sampling day (i.e., sampling effort must be consistent.)
  
• Students will use field guides to identify fish species that are captured. A good reference is the Peterson Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes by Lawrence Page and Brooks Burr.
  
• Students will count the number of each species and record data on a data sheet.
  
• Frog monitoring
  
• -Students will visit the wetland at night (sometime during the first 3 hours after sunset) and listen for frog calls.
  
• Students must already be familiar with the calls of local frog species. A good way to learn is to listen to the record "Florida Frog Calls" by Richard A. Bradley.
  
• During each visit, students will walk around the perimeter of the wetland and record the approximate number of individuals of each species that are calling. The number of frogs calling (for each species) can be estimated as 0, 1-5, 5-20, or >20. A good reference is the book "Measuring and Monitoring Biological Diversity: Standard Methods for Amphibians" by W. Ronald Heyer, Maureen Donnelly, Roy McDiarmid, Lee-Ann Hayek, and Mercedes Foster.
  
• Bird monitoring
  
• Students will visit the wetland sometime during the day and look for birds.
  
• Students will walk around the perimeter of the wetland and record the number of individuals of each species that they observe.
  
• Students must refer to a field guide to identify each bird species. A good reference is the book "Florida's Birds" by Herbert Kale and David Maehr.
  

Analysis

• Data collected from each wildlife survey will be analyzed and graphed using the computer software programs SigmaStat and SigmaPlot. Both programs are student friendly and easy to use by anyone who is statistically naïve.
  
• Fish data: for each sampling period, students will calculate the mean number of fish per trap.The number of fish per trap will be compared among sampling periods to determine whether the number of fish in the wetland has changed over time.
  
• Frog data: For each species, students will produce a graph and plot the number of individuals calling during each visit. Students may refer to this graph to determine at which time of the year each species is calling/breeding. Students may then evaluate whether the number of frogs breeding at the site has changed from year to year.
  
• Bird data: For each species, students will produce a graph and plot the number of individuals observed during each visit. This graph will illustrate whether there are seasonal changes in the numbers of a particular species. Also, students may evaluate whether more birds (total number, number of species) visit the wetland each year.
  

Main contact
Dr. Jerry Johnston, 954-475-6832,

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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 9653672. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.