Multi-method biodiversity assessments from wetlands in Grand Teton National Park

Abstract

A cost-efficient approach to long-term monitoring is to focus on one species or group of organisms as indicators of ecological condition. Through the use of autonomous monitoring technologies, monitoring programs can efficiently expand the biological community surveyed and inferences made. Amphibians have been monitored in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks by the Greater Yellowstone Inventory and Monitoring Network (GRYN) since 2006, yet other taxa dependent on wetlands have not been systematically studied. Our main aim was to explore what additional insights we could gain about wetland biodiversity by combining GRYN’s amphibian surveys with multiple autonomous technologies. We deployed wildlife cameras and acoustic recorders (for audible and ultrasonic sounds) at 4 permanent wetlands in Grand Teton National Park, WY during early and late summer 2017 and used descriptive metrics to summarize our findings. During GRYN’s surveys, 3 of 4 native amphibians were detected. With autonomous monitoring tools, we also documented avian and mammalian communities and detected changes in the degree of activity over the summer. Combining multiple, complementary technologies with field-based surveys provides a more comprehensive picture of wetland biodiversity and enhances insights about ecological condition and change.