What's Slithering Around on Your School Grounds?Transforming Student Awareness of Reptile & Amphibian Diversity

Abstract

This article is reprinted with permission from the National Association of Biology Teachers. ***Note: Figures may be missing from this format of the document Abstract: Tomasek et al describe the protocols used in an ongoing research project on amphibian and reptile diversity at Cool Springs Environmental Education Center near New Bern NC. Herpetofaunal surveys have been conducted for the past five years on a 1700-acre site owned by the Weyerhaeuser Corp. Four protocols have been utilized too capture and compile a list of reptiles and amphibians--these protocols can be duplicated to some degree on almost any school site with some small acreage. Article: This article describes the protocols used in an ongoing research project on amphibian and reptile diversity at Cool Springs Environmental Education Center near New Bern, North Carolina. Herpetofaunal surveys have been conducted for the past five years on a 1700-acre site owned by the Weyerhaeuser Corporation. Four protocols have been utilized to capture and compile a list of reptiles and amphibians. These protocols can be duplicated to some degree on almost any school site with some small acreage. Such a study can be conducted with students of almost any age group, providing them with opportunities to conduct inquiry-based scientific research. If you decide to implement a similar study using your school grounds, parents' private property, or perhaps a local public park, students will learn to conduct field surveys and will learn more about habitat types, relationships between habitat and wildlife, niche partitioning, common and scientific names of local amphibians and reptiles, and their migratory patterns. Students will gain experience in making detailed observations, asking questions, and analyzing data. Most importantly, as students learn about the types of wildlife in the area they study, their environmental awareness will be piqued and stretched.