Chapter 3 North Carolina Species
• The CNAH is an organization that serves as a data bank for information about North American amphibians, turtles, reptiles, and crocodilians. Published research literature documenting taxonomic changes is available online (http://www.cnah.org). The CNAH webpage also provides a link to peer-reviewed articles published in the Journal of North American Herpetology and access to articles in the Contemporary Herpetology journal archives. Another resource for amphibian taxonomy is the American Museum of Natural History Amphibian Species of the World online reference database: http://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia. 3.2.8 Recommendations In general, protection and restoration of natural community composition and function and protection of surrounding natural areas under current conditions are the best ways to ensure that suitable habitats are available for amphibian species. Conservation and management actions that result in a large and diverse pool of populations will ensure that species will be able to survive future stressors and adapt to changing climate conditions. For example, riparian buffers and forest habitats adjacent to streams and wetlands provide cool and moist microclimate conditions which are beneficial to amphibians (Shoo et al. 2011) . Other conservation recommendations for the habitats associated with amphibian species have been incorporated into the natural community descriptions in Chapter 4.
Further, implementation of conservation measures and recommendations in protected species conservation plans is necessary.
• State protected species conservation plans are available online https://www.ncwildlife.gov/wildlife-habitat/species-conservation-plans.
• Federal protected species recovery plans are available online https://www.fws.gov/program/recovery/recovery-plans.
Surveys, monitoring, and research should follow best practices and protocols established by recognized authorities (see Chapter 6 for a list of protocols). The following recommendations should be considered appropriate to implement for all amphibian species. 3.2.8.1 Surveys Surveys are systematic and scientific methods of collecting information about the distribution, abundance, and ecology of wildlife or their habitats in a specific area at a specific time. Repeated surveys using the same methods, such as Audubon’s annual Christmas Bird Count, can provide census information about a species over time. Common survey methods include transect walks, point counts, camera trapping, and acoustic monitoring. Distributional and status surveys need to focus on species that are declining or mainly dependent on at-risk or sensitive natural communities.
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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