Alberta Volunteer Amphibian Monitoring Program

Volunteers play a crucial role in wildlife conservation efforts through their involvement in biodiversity-related citizen science projects. The Alberta Volunteer Amphibian Monitoring Program (AVAMP) invites people to engage with nature and to provide unique information on amphibian and reptile distribution and life cycle events. To streamline the way AVAMP participants make and report their observations, we are partnering with Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI) and trialing their free NatureLynx mobile application. The NatureLynx app allows AVAMP participants to complete data entry in the field. Data submissions are accessible by ACA and are organized by the app in an AVAMP community group, which was established in 2019. In 2021/22, 67 participants from AVAMP submitted 71 amphibian and 22 reptile observations, including locations of nine snake hibernacula (dens) directly through AVAMP. An additional 16 amphibian records were submitted through the AVAMP group on ABMI’s NatureLynx platform, including from the Alberta Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy. Combined, these data represented 70% of the amphibian and 56% of the reptile species native to the province. Setting appropriate conservation measures for amphibians and reptiles requires a good understanding of species distributions and timing of life cycle events, which are often based on relatively few observation records. AVAMP is an example of how ACA can work with a network of enthusiastic volunteers and partners to fill these data gaps and positively impact conservation.

Partnerships

Alberta Amphibian & Reptile Conservancy, Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute, Alberta Environment and Parks, Volunteer participants

Annual Summaries

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