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Demonstration of subsurface passive acoustic monitoring (SPAM) to survey for and estimate populations of imperiled underwater-calling frogs

The management and recovery of threatened and endangered amphibians on Department of Defense (DoD) lands relies on an understanding of their distribution and abundance. Fortunately, most anuran species can be surveyed acoustically using vocalizations during the breeding season. This work demonstrated the use of subsurface passive acoustic monitoring (SPAM) to survey for rare underwater-calling, at-risk anuran species on DoD installations. We evaluated the performance of SPAM relative to traditional passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) (microphone) and human manual calling survey (MCS) methods. Results showed that SPAM outperformed PAM and MCS in validation experiments where calls were generated underwater; SPAM was less successful than PAM and MCS in the field demonstration. Most leopard frog calls were apparently produced in air despite previous reports of extensive underwater-calling behavior. This project highlights how acoustic information can help address a data gap in the ecology of at-risk species, which can help refine future survey methodology and management efforts. Ultimately, the utility of SPAM for underwater-calling species will depend on the focal species, the landscape where it occurs, and technological considerations available to the surveyor. SPAM is more expensive than traditional methods but, in some situations, may be the only way to effectively detect species.