ARMI scientists met in St Louis, MO the week of November 13th for their annual meeting to discuss their latest findings and brainstorm future projects. This team of experts in ecology, hydrology, and statistics from USGS discussed their latest findings from research on climate change, adaptive
management, hydrological modeling, emerging diseases, pesticides, invasive species, habitat restoration, and population monitoring. ARMI's research portfolio is diverse to correspond with the wide variety of stressors that impact amphibian populations. ARMI provides the essential scientific in(...more)
Streams harbor many secretive and rare species that are difficult to find and study. Under the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative, USGS scientists and their partners developed and demonstrated an efficient protocol for detecting the DNA of stream-dwelling amphibians that occur in low density in fast-moving water. The simple protocol is widely applicable to inventory and monitoring efforts across large watersheds, and could revolutionize surveys for various stream-dwelling amphibians the way that sampling fur for the DNA has for elusive mammals. (David Pilliod is a scientist and fr(...more)
There are many sampling and statistical challenges to evaluating the effects of management actions on a community of often cryptic and occasionally rare species. ARMI PIs Susan Walls and Hardin Waddle teamed with USGS statistician Robert Dorazio to develop an extension of a single species model to estimate simultaneous temporal changes in probabilities of detection, occupancy, colonization, extinction and species turnover using ARMI data collected in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley of Louisiana from 2002 – 2006.
The statistical modeling approach is reported in a recent (...more)
ARMI Mission Statement
In response to indications of worldwide declines in amphibian populations, the President and Congress directed Interior Department agencies to initiate a national program of amphibian monitoring, research, and conservation. There is an urgent need to determine the scope and severity of the problem and to investigate causes. The U.S. Geological Survey is uniquely qualified to coordinate and lead a cooperative national effort because its scientists have been in the forefront of studying amphibian populations and life history traits, measuring and monitoring environmental characteristics, and conducting research into potential causes of decline. As a result, the Agency formed the National Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI).
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
