Citizen science conservation: a case study using two threatened large aquatic American salamanders (Amphibia: Urodela), the Common Mudpuppy Necturus maculosus (Proteidae) and the Eastern Hellbender Cryptobranchus alleganiensis (Cryptobranchidae) observations on iNaturalist
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8940.16.12.26234-26239Keywords:
Amphibian decline, aquatic conservation, biodiversity, community science, herpetologyAbstract
Amphibians are facing threats globally which can present challenges to managers seeking to document declines. Citizen science platforms are emerging as an effective tool to document presence of species worldwide. However, little is known regarding the ability to characterize trends of large, fully aquatic easily identifiable salamander presence on these platforms within North American freshwater habitats, as a proxy for monitoring threatened species. This manuscript provides a baseline for the use of iNaturalist observations to characterize life history and anthropogenic factors associated with two amphibian species in decline, the Eastern Hellbender Cryptobranchus alleganiensis and Common mudpuppy Necturus maculosus salamanders. I report on predatory behavior, percent alive versus dead, and potential impacts of fishing on these salamanders. Conservation approaches such as those presented in this communication can provide a method for monitoring species using the power of citizen science in areas where researchers are managing threatened populations of amphibians.
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