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[From Summer 1999]
Have you been wondering what those funny looking traps are in the woods? Or maybe what those strange sounds are emanating out of one of the offices in subheadquarters? Ms. Holly Toadvine (... yup, that's her real name) is a masters degree candidate at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and is studying the reptiles and amphibians of the refuge.
Her study is designed to meet several objectives: 1) to develop a long-term monitoring protocol for refuge amphibians and reptiles, 2) to determine the species of amphibians and reptiles present at the refuge, and 3) to compare the cost and effectiveness of various sampling techniques. Ms. Toadvine will be conducting aural surveys (listening to frog calls at night), turtle basking surveys (counting the turtles basking in the impoundments), road surveys (counting anything crossing the road), pitfall array/funnel trap surveys (those funny looking traps in the white hills), time-constrained searches (searching an area during a set time), and cover board surveys (looking under boards which have been placed in the woods).
So far she's encountered the following species: fowler's toad, southern leopard frog, common snapping turtle, Northern diamondback terrapin, green tree frog, Northern Black racer, black rat snake, Eastern hognose snake, Northern water snake, Eastern painted turtle, red-bellied turtle, and the red-backed salamander. As a Student Career Experience Program student, she is expected to work a total of 640 hours as a full time employee, as well as conduct her thesis research, prior to graduation. Her study will be conducted on the refuge until fall 2000. If anyone has any questions about her study, give her a call at the refuge.
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