Amphibian Foundation Research and Conservation

Captive Propagation Successes

MAAMP

The Amphibian Foundation has proudly developed and initiated a city-wide program to monitor our urban amphibian communities. This program is supported through partnerships, donations and trained 'community scientists'. Members are trained through the online training program (maamp.us) and through MAAMP workshops offered throughout the year at Kavarna Cafe (Decatur), the Atlanta Science Tavern and other locations in and around Atlanta. For questions, please visit the MAAMP website or contact the coordinator at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The training and info site is comprehensive and includes images of all 28 species of native Atlanta amphibians in egg, larval, metamorph, juvenile and adult forms. Frog calls are playable and downloadable.

Visit the MAAMP Website

urban habitat surveys

Almost 40 sites are surveyed in and around the 285 perimeter. These sites are surveyed monthly, 30+ minutes after sunset with a 5 minute sonic survey followed by a 55 minute visual survey.

frog and toad surveys

Frogs can be surveyed via visual detections and sonic surveys. Participants are trained to identify frogs by sight and sound.

data collection

For standardization of data, sites are sampled by the same volunteer every month. The data collected is submitted to the MAAMP Coordinator (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

salamander surveys

Salamanders can be identified visually in their adult, larval and egg forms. Atlanta has an incredible diversity of salamanders with 14 species, but many of them are either difficult to find or haven't been seen in many years.

site selection

Survey sites are selected based on several criteria. 1) Sites identified through projects and restoration grants, 2) Sites requested for survey by park managers and 3) Sites identified as occupied by amphibians.

citizen science

The MAAMP relies on volunteers trained as 'community scientists' to monitor and identify amphibians in our urban neighborhoods. There are no age requirements for participation, but most surveys occur after dark and require adult supervision.

Urban Amphibian Conservation

The Amphibian Foundation works closely with our community, as well as the amphibian communities populating our urban environment. We believe firmly that the more people are engaged with nature and wildlife, the better off we (and our urban habitats) will be. Aside from working directly with partners and land managers to restore habitat for amphibians, and re-introducing species back out onto the landscape where they were once found, we guide people (of all ages) out into area parks and greenspaces to learn about and witness amphibians. We do this through our annual 'Salamander Stroll' during the Atlanta Science Festival, through our joint Atlanta Urban Ecologists program that we offer with other area nonprofits, to our community science initiative the Metro Atlanta Amphibian Monitoring Program (MAAMP) in which we train interested neighbors to monitor the amphibians in their own neighborhoods.

One example of our work is the Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) which was once common, but was reduced to only 2 small temporary wetlands in the metro region. We worked with our partners at the Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve in Decatur, GA USA to repopulate the species back into the preserve, where they hadn't been seen in 20 years. The preserve was committed to restoring the habitat and removing invasive plant species which altered the habitat to the point where it was no longer suitable for Spotted Salamanders. Once the invasives were removed, we began a repatriation initiative by introducing eggs and late stage larvae to an artificial ephemeral wetland on the preserve. After several years of introductions, Spotted Salamanders are now detected in every life stage, are reproducing on their own, and appear to be in stable condition!

More recently, the Atlanta History Center has been working hard to restore habitat on their property and built a wetland to support amphibians, such as Spotted Salamanders. Last year, we translocated 30 of our late-stage Ambystoma maculatum larvae from the Amphibian Research and Conservation Center, and will follow those up with more in the upcoming year. With any luck, we will have a similar response and Spotted Salamanders will recolonize the site. If we are successful, we will have doubled the populations of Spotted Salamanders in the metro Atlanta area.