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Over the past 150 years, rapid growth in agriculture, industry, and urban development has resulted in dramatic changes in our environment. These changes pose significant challenges for animals and plants. Amphibians (frogs, toads, and salamanders) are particularly impacted by these human activities and environmental changes.
It is well recognized among scientists that amphibian populations have declined. Several species are now extinct and once-thriving populations have diminished in numbers. Habitat loss, exposure to contaminants, ultraviolet radiation, introduced species, parasites, and fungal diseases are some of the factors identified as influencing amphibian declines.
Understanding the decline of amphibian populations is crucial in uncovering how people's activities are affecting water quality, wildlife habitat, ecological processes, and other aspects of our environment. We share our environment with amphibians and their decline may foreshadow challenges we all will have to face in the 21st century.
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Link to USGS's Frogwatch USA. This Web site is the Internet presence of an educational frog and toad monitoring program coordinated by the U.S. Geological Survey Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. Frogwatch USA relies on volunteers, like you, to collect information regarding frog and toad populations in neighborhoods across the Nation. Please explore the Web site and see if you would like to become a Frogwatch USA volunteer.
Volunteers participate by:
- Learning the life histories and the voices of their local frogs and toads.
- Choosing safe and convenient wetlands to monitor, often in backyards or local parks.
- Periodically monitoring sites by listening -- "frogwatching" -- three minutes for frogs and toads after dusk.
- Registering and submitting findings via the Frogwatch USA Web site.
Frogwatch USA also provides usable data sheet, instructions, and a list of your local frogs and toads with photos and descriptions.
 Link to USGS sites.
 Link to non-USGS sites. We are happy to provide this link for your convenience. Please be aware that we cannot guarantee the accuracy of non-USGS sites.
Frogweb
This Web site, an inter-agency initiative amongst federal, state, and non-profit agencies, and the education and conservation communities, provides comprehensive information about amphibians for both scientists and the general public. Keep abreast of the latest information about amphibian declines and deformities, and volunteer information for various amphibian monitoring activities, and check out the Resources for Kids area for a variety of classroom projects and activities.
North American Reporting Center for Amphibian Malformations (NARCAM)
Have you recently discovered deformed frogs, toads, or salamanders in your area? Help scientists track incidences of malformations in North America by reporting them to NARCAM. Reporting forms for both biologists and non-biologists are available on this site. See photos of types of malformaties. NARCAM is managed by the USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center.
The North American Amphibian Monitoring Program
The North American Amphibian Monitoring Program is a continent-wide amphibian monitoring program, and they have some exciting ways that you can get involved, including: Frog call surveys - Volunteers drive a pre-specified route 3-4 times during the breeding season, and listen for frog calls. Terrestrial salamander surveys.
Frog Notes Program
Have frogs disappeared from your community or favorite vacation spot? Have frogs appeared at new locations where you had never previously seen or heard them? This program allows you to tell us about the history of the amphibian population in your community. Share your local amphibian history with FrogWeb readers, and read about what others have observed in their neighborhoods.
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