Herp Observer
Monitoring Rhode Island's Amphibians and Reptiles with Community Science
Herpetology (noun): the study of amphibians and reptiles
Herp (noun) : an amphibian or reptile
It's a beautiful June day in Rhode Island. You're walking along your favorite hiking trail when you come across an unusual looking critter right in the middle of your path. Upon further inspection, you realize it's an eastern box turtle. You hike here often, but you rarely see this cryptic species and you want to take some photos to document your find.
Normally you would share the photos with family and friends, but you remember an article you read about a new app made by the Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife that allows you to submit observations of amphibians and reptiles encountered anywhere in the state. You download the app and make your first contribution as a community scientist!
Rhode Island may be small, but it is home to an impressive diversity of herps. Not only is the Ocean State the seasonal home to four species of sea turtles, but 19 additional native reptiles and 18 native amphibians are found in our terrestrial and wetland environments year-round. In addition, both invasive (established) and exotic (regularly introduced but not established) non-native species can be found throughout the state.
Collecting data on the distribution of all these species is a tall task, even in a small state. The Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife wants to ask for your help in enhancing our understanding of where all of these hard to find species occur. This information is a fundamental part of effective conservation and management.
Background: Great Swamp Management Area from above
Hundreds of thousands of people use Rhode Island's parks and management areas every year. Each and every one of those people has the potential to contribute to data collection, whether out hiking, fishing, hunting, bike riding, or walking the dog.
The Herp Observer app offers the Division of Fish and Wildlife the opportunity to capitalize on easy-to-use technology that can serve as a true game-changer in the way we strive to understand the distribution of wildlife throughout our state.
We welcome all observations of any amphibian or reptile, common or rare, found anywhere in Rhode Island. You can report animals encountered in one of DEM's pristine management areas...
Eastern box turtles thrive in a number of habitat types, but are most likely to persist in undeveloped areas. Photo by Peter Paton.
...or in your own backyard!
Eastern gartersnakes are one of the most common species of snake in Rhode Island. They are widespread throughout the state, persisting even in areas of dense urban development. Photo by Chris Raithel.
Herp Observer strives to advance amphibian and reptile conservation in the state through community collaboration.
To learn more about what amphibians and reptiles occur in Rhode Island click on the links below...
Reptiles:
Amphibians:
Background Photo by Scott Buchanan
What is Herp Observer?
Herp Observer is an easy-to-use app built using ArcGIS Survey123. Survey123 is free and available for download on all devices or for use with a traditional web browser.
Herp Observer strives to be an accessible and intuitive way for all Rhode Islanders to engage with their natural environment and contribute real data that will be used to improve wildlife conservation in their state.
Why Community Science?
RIDEM's Division of Fish and Wildlife has a small staff and limited ability to monitor the many species for which it is charged with managing. With the help of technology in the hands of the public, we are able to amplify our ability to collect data and improve our understanding of species occurrence throughout the state. This information has the potential to improve conservation and management. For example, observations submitted may help us identify a new population of a threatened or endangered species, or to identify a road mortality hotspot...
Map of roads in southern New England
Our modern landscape is carved up by roads, small and large, that create a host of problems for wildlife. Roads can serve as barriers to movement leading to habitat fragmentation, or as direct sources of mortality when vehicle strikes kill animals. Observations of road mortality submitted via Herp Observer will help us improve our understanding of the most problematic roads, which could lead to the application of mitigation to reduce road mortality.
A Look at the Data
Rhode Island Fish and Wildlife launched Herp Observer in April of 2019 to a select group of people involved in conservation in Rhode Island. This "soft launch" was to work out any issues before we officially launched it to the public in 2020. Even with a limited number of participants in 2019, we had over 400 observations from April to November. With Herp Observer officially launched in 2020 and more widely available, we received over 550 observations from February through November.
Graph of the number of individuals of each species reported to Herp Observer in 2019.
With so many observations from the past two years, we saw expected trends in the data. In the graph from 2019, there is a noticeable spike in observations for frogs and turtles in June. This spike is expected because June is the height of the activity period for herps.
The reason we see more observations for frogs and turtles and not for snakes or salamanders is due to the visibility of those species. For example, while frogs are often active on the surface or in the water, salamanders spend the majority of their time underground or under debris.
Graph of the number of individuals of each species reported to Herp Observer in 2020.
Due to launching Herp Observer in April of 2019, we missed the most conspicuous activity period of wood frogs and spotted salamanders, but their activity was very apparent in 2020. These two species have large breeding aggregations in vernal pools that occur most often in March, indicative of the spikes in observations seen in the graph. After breeding concludes, these individuals disperse back into the uplands where they are seldom observed. The spike in turtle observations around June is a predictable pattern, as this is when female turtles are laying eggs on land.
In 2020, as data collection was expanded, we observed a spike of salamander observations in the fall. This spike is also to be expected, but with a different species. Marbled salamanders make their way to dry vernal pools in the fall for their breeding aggregations. The marbled salamander eggs remain in the dry vernal pool, and later hatch when the wetlands refill with water.
Map showing locations of herp observations throughout Rhode Island in 2019 (green) and 2020 (blue). Note: all observations submitted to Herp Observer are located in a secure database that is only accessible to RIDEM staff.
Although we had over 900 observations from 2019 and 2020, the majority of observations were from the southern portion of the state. Our hope is that we will have more even coverage from throughout Rhode Island as word spreads about Herp Observer, and more community scientists submit their observations.
These data have great potential to improve our understanding of where different species of reptiles and amphibians occur in the state, and to be used or conservation and management of these species.
A look at a wetland complex before and after development for residential houses. Before image from 2003, after image from 2020.
As human development of the landscape continues, wildlife habitat like that pictured above is lost, degraded, and fragmented. In addition, development often creates dangerous barriers that put wildlife at risk of being injured or killed by vehicles. Herp Observer data will help contribute to our understanding of where mitigating these dangers are most urgently needed, and identify strategies for reducing risk to wildlife.
How to Participate
We created Herp Observer with the idea that anyone would be able to download it and submit observations of the amphibians and reptiles that they come across in their daily lives. Herp Observer is a great way to get involved with community-based science and conservation, and using the app is easy, quick, and free!
If you would like to start submitting observations, follow this link to our instructional guide on how to download and use Herp Observer.
If you would like to learn more about Rhode Island's native amphibians and reptiles, you can follow the links listed above, or check out our list of wildlife facts sheets here .
Thank you, and happy herping!
If you have questions, please contact:
Scott Buchanan, RIDFW Herpetologist
scott.buchanan@dem.ri.gov
