Herpetofaunal Atlas - Atlasser's Guide

Nova Scotia Herpetofaunal Atlas
June 2000 Newsletter

Supplement

Juvenile Wood Frog and Juvenile Yellow-spotted Salamander (photos courtesy of Jim Wolford)

The tables presented here show the current records (1999 and 2000) collected by the NS Herp Atlas Project volunteers up to May 17, 2000. By that date, all species except for the Four-toed Salamander had been reported. Also, none of the different forms of Blue-spotted Salamander (triploid female), Eastern Redback Salamander (all-red phase) or Maritime Garter Snake (melanistic phase) had been found yet. Between May 17 and June 2, 2000, we received our first sighting for a Four-toed Salamander and our second sighting of a live Blue-spotted Salamander.

Nova Scotia Herpetofaunal Atlas Project Newsletter

Supplemental Insert Volume 2: Issue 1 Page 1

There are 650 atlassable squares, at three per page plus province's edges. Ignoring adjacency, 97 of these squares need to be completed (75% of expected species).
29 of the 43 atlassable pages have at least one square that has been visited by atlassers. 101 squares have been visited by atlassers and the average completion (% of the species expected to be found) of these squares is 20%. 10 squares are approximately 50% complete. None have been totally completed (09C3-Keji is close with 12 species found).
If we expect our number of atlassers to increase slightly each year (and so consider this to be about a year of data), after 5 years, either 500 squares will be 20% complete, or 101 squares will be 100% complete.

Over half of all of our records so far are incidental. IF we can increase the number of atlassed records, and start to direct volunteer effort to where it is needed the most, WE CAN ATTAIN OUR COVERAGE GOAL BY THE END OF THE PROJECT!!

Nova Scotia Herpetofaunal Atlas Project Newsletter

Supplemental Insert Volume 2: Issue 1 Page 2

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