Maryland Amphibian and Reptile Atlas
The Maryland Amphibian and Reptile Atlas (MARA) is a joint project of the Natural History Society of Maryland and Maryland's Department of Natural Resources. The Sanctuary is also participating in this project.
The main purpose of the Atlas is to document the current distribution pattern of herps at a large scale covering the State of Maryland. The Atlas survey is designed to achieve specific purposes of data quality, resource management, and public education. The Atlas will provide baseline information for future repeat efforts to detect population changes in distribution at the resolution of the original survey period . Atlas protocols must be designed and implemented to ensure credible scientific results and information.
MARA project design will assure that search effort is dispersed as evenly as possible throughout the State so that species are not just searched for in places where they are already known to be common.
The intensity of survey effort is a balance between the numbers of volunteer surveyors, the data burden per observation, and the desired project detail and accuracy driven by the overall purpose of the herp atlas. Required data per record will be the minimum needed to achieve the purpose of the Atlas.
Publications, reports, historical records, and field notes collected prior to the start of the formal Atlas effort are also important for directing searches, explaining trends, and for providing complementary evidence of patterns derived from the systematically collected Atlas occurrence data. However, historic studies and field records could bias the survey strategies of volunteer surveyors. These studies and records are useful for efficiently locating known populations, but might decrease the probability of searching for populations in new, unfamiliar areas. This potential bias will be considered in designing Atlas protocols. A Herp Atlas Handbook will be available in 2010.
In 2009 we conducted a pilot project in Anne Arundel County to test field methods and data recording. The Sanctuary was one of the 2009 test sites for MARA, and we will hold training sessions throughout 2010. The statewide effort will begin in January 2010. The Anne Arundel County coordinator is David Walbeck (dwalbeck@mde.state.md.us; 410-537- 3831). Please call the office and speak with Chris Swarth if you'd like to help with this important project.