Use of amphibian communities as indicators of restoration success

The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) requires the use of ecological indicators to measure the success of restoration efforts. The Everglades amphibian community is ideal because amphibians are present in all habitats and under all hydrologic regimes. During Everglades restoration, hydrologic patterns will change and the response of ecological indicators will determine success. Amphibian occurrence information was collected in this database along with ecological indicators and used to determine if amphibians could act as an indicator of success of restoration efforts in Everglades National Park and surrounding water conservation areas. Fourteen amphibian species were detected through visual encounter surveys (VES), vocalization surveys and trapping methods throughout the study and the occurrence information collected in this project database.