|
University of Puerto Rico Graduate student, Gail Ross, completed her thesis project in 2007. Ms. Ross’s thesis work focused on monitoring amphibian calls in five of the historic crested toad sites in the north. Although disappointing that no sapo conchos were heard during 2007, Ms. Ross has expanded her research and will continue the monitoring project in 2008. During her initial study, Ms. Ross found that available frog call loggers on the market were labor intensive to check on a weekly basis and time consuming to review. Consequently, Ms. Ross sought assistance from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at UPR, Mayaguez, and they were able to help her with the development of state-of-the-art technology for a new frog logger. UPR is currently in the trial phase of the loggers. These digital recording devices (modeled after technology used by ornithology labs) will be able to be programmed to record species specific calls and accessed in “real-time” from any PC across the globe. The SSP is currently seeking funds to purchase loggers to place at 12 current and historic sites in Puerto Rico. These new loggers will also facilitate the study of other species, such as birds, and will have broad applications for many other amphibian programs.
|
Amphibian Monitoring