Global amphibian declines have scientists and volunteers scrambling

[Staff]

Global amphibian declines have scientists and volunteers scrambling to preserve backyard biodiversity.
Death by Rubber
By Lindsey Konkel, posted May 22nd, 2009

Scienceline Death by Rubber
excerpt from above:

A ghostly procession of ten volunteers clad in orange safety vests and cellophane-covered headlamps shuffles down the middle of a lonely wooded road in northwestern New Jersey, each staring intently at their feet. It’s a damp March night and the temperature is hovering around 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

These hardy workers are looking for frogs and salamanders to count. They’re waiting for the amphibians to cross the road on their way from the wooded uplands where they winter to the marshy lowlands and vernal pools where they will mate, come spring. The volunteers have been standing out here for nearly three hours, and they haven’t seen a thing. The forest is still — not a single drop of rain to wet the road and entice the frogs and salamanders to make their crossing. “I think we got skunked,” says one bobbing orange vest to the darkness.