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Project Title: Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) – Upper Midwest Region
Project Number: 86079AF
Project Chief: Jones, Perry
Project Start Date: June, 2000
Project End Date: Continuing
Cooperator: Department of Interior

Objectives:
Assess the status of amphibians in the Upper Midwest and investigate potential causative factors for amphibian declines, and integrate information on hydrologic factors into the interpretation of amphibian population status and trends.

Progress During FY10
The project chief worked with ARMI herpetologists from the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center to develop a hydrologic study plan for ARMI sites in the Midwest. Precipitation gages were installed in the Highland Lake District and St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. Groundwater and surface-water interaction assessment were conducted at four sites. Surface-water and pore-water temperatures were measured at a 65 locations along the perimeter of the four Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge sites. Eighteen pore-water and four surface-water samples were collected at the four Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge sites and sent to the USGS Reston Stable Isotope Laboratory for hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios analysis. Temperature and isotope data indicated several locations where groundwater flows into the sites. At the two sites in the Highland Lake District, surface-water and pore-water temperatures were measured at 95 locations. A total of thirteen pore-water samples, three surface-water samples, and one precipitation sample were collected at the two Highland Lake District sites and sent to the USGS Reston Stable Isotope Laboratory for hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios analysis. Temperature and isotope data indicated several locations where ground water flows into the sites. Water-quality data during 2009 and 2010 collected was compared to wetland water-level data and amphibian data to gain a better understanding of any relation between amphibian populations and hydrology. The project chief worked with staff from the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center on a journal article summarizing pesticide data collected at ARMI sites in the Midwest region.

Plans for FY11 Continue work with USGS herpetologists on a journal article summarizing pesticide data collected at ARMI sites. Analyze water temperature and oxygen-18/oxygen-16 and deuterium/protium isotope ratio data from the shorelines of the selected ARMI sites in the Highland Lake District and Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge where ground water is thought to be a major component to the sites water budget. Prepare a journal article summarizing water-quality results from groundwater/ surface water interaction assessments at ARMI sites. Collect precipitation data from the ARMI sites and load data into the USGS data base.