The Great Virgin Islands Frog Count: a low-tech, high-return method for finding frogs

Some people go to the Virgin Islands for sun and surf. Others, like NHSM Herp Club member, Russel, go for the Herps. On a recent trip to VI, Russ met Dr. Renata Platenberg, the principal investigator for the Great Virgin Island Frog Count. Russ invited her to present to the club, and we are excited to say that Dr. Platenberg accepted that invitation. Please join us for this special presentation.

The Great VI Frog Count is a Citizen Science project to map the distribution of frogs across the Virgin Islands. This project is part of a long term study on VI frog activity patterns and distribution. In the past we have been limited to information that could be collected from people trained to recognize frog calls, and to areas where those people were able to access. Using a citizen science approach coupled with sound analysis software, we can increase the areas surveyed and decrease the human error. Long term, these data will provide valuable information on the status of our frogs, the health of their ecosystems, and their response to climate change.