Abstract (may include machine translation)
Amphibians have received increased attention in recent years from the scientific community and general public alike. Many populations throughout the world have declined, or even been extirpated, often without an apparent cause. Concern about the status of amphibians has translated into a growing interest in systematic and standardised monitoring programs. This is also in part due to their value as bio-indicators of environmental conditions. Extensive efforts to monitor populations of calling amphibians are in place, especially in North America. One such initiative involves the use of volunteers in conducting amphibian road call counts. To date, no attempt has been made to investigate the use of road call counts in Hungary as a tool to monitor anuran populations. This thesis summarises my research which involved conducting road call counts in the Biharugra Landscape Protected Area of the Körös-Maros National Park. Seven of Hungary's 12 anurans were observed in the study site using this method. An additional 3 species were unveiled by complementary visual encounter surveys. Road call count limitations including varying species calling distances, extraneous noise, and associated biases should be considered. However, due to their relative low cost to implement, accessibility to volunteers, and value to accurately detect most anuran species, inclusion in Hungary's National Biodiversity Monitoring Scheme should be pursued.
Translated title of the contribution | Monitoring Amphibians useing road call counts (Körös-Maros National Park - Kis-Sárrét) |
---|---|
Original language | Hungarian |
Pages (from-to) | 199-205 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Crisicum: A Körös-Maros Nemzeti Park Igazgatóság Időszaki Kiadványa |
Volume | 1999 |
Issue number | 2 |
State | Published - 1999 |