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Acadia Amphibian Project Volunteer Training
August 24 @ 9:30 am - 11:30 am
Get friendly with our neighborhood amphibians by monitoring the nighttime presence of amphibians on rainy nights from late August through October! Volunteer to help conduct research at Acadia National Park this fall, and your data will contribute to research at the University of Maine, Acadia National Park, and Schoodic Institute.
The volunteer training session will take place at the Acadia National Park Headquarters (20 McFarland Hill Drive, Bar Harbor, ME 04609) on Saturday, August 24 from 9:30am-11:30am.
ABOUT THE PROJECT:
The Acadia Amphibian Project supports research by Marisa Monroe and Dr. Noah Charney at the University of Maine, Orono, in collaboration with the National Park Service and Schoodic Institute. Marisa was awarded a 2024 Acadia Science Fellowship by Schoodic Institute in support of this work. Read the full press release here.
This research uses dedicated volunteers to monitor 300m transects around Mount Desert Island and the Schoodic Peninsula for the presence of amphibians on roads. Volunteers are expected to monitor transects at least once a week at night. TEAMS ARE ENCOURAGED and many volunteers form groups with others (friends or strangers!). Work begins immediately after training (mid- or late-August) until mid- or late-October.
Data from this work supports the creation of a predictive model, to help the park understand when and where amphibians are moving across roads. Our goal is to find ways to protect migrating and moving amphibians year round — not just in the spring.
Possible mitigations for amphibian road mortality include road underpasses, road closures, and continued volunteer efforts.
IF YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO VOLUNTEER: You can still participate! If you see an amphibian on a road in Acadia National Park, make an iNaturalist observation. Observations will automatically be collected into a project titled “Acadia Amphibian Project”.
If you do not want to post to iNaturalist, you can email your observation to toadsonroads.acadia@gmail.com.
