USGS researchers are studying how increased water saline levels effect amphibians in the Big Thicket.

Date: May 5, 2015
Contact: Mary Kay Manning, 409-951-6720

The Big Thicket National Preserve Science Café program series continues this May with a presentation from U.S. Geologic Survey researcher Brad Glorioso on Wednesday, May 13th, at 6 pm at the Logon Café in Beaumont, Texas.

Mr. Glorioso is an ecologist with the USGS at the National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette, LA. His current research focuses on long-term amphibian monitoring in the Atchafalaya Basin of south-central Louisiana and in Big Thicket National Preserve, as part of the USGS Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative, led by principal investigator Hardin Waddle. They have over 50 sampling locations along bayous and other waterways in the lower part of the Beaumont Unit in Big Thicket National Preserve, where they have so far identified 14 species of frogs, as well as over 22 species of reptiles. 

Increased water salinity in these wetlands, due to storms, sea level rise, and loss of freshwater from upstream, can have very damaging impacts on amphibian populations. Frogs and toads are particularly vulnerable to increased water salinity due to their water-permeable skin and, in the case of tadpoles, their inability to escape excessively saline water. These factors make it important for us to understand the abundance and distribution of amphibians in our coastal wetlands, and how they may be affected by future management decisions. 

The Science Café is free and open to the public. This program will be held at Logon Café, 3805 Calder St, in Beaumont at 6 pm on Wednesday, May 13th. For more information, contact Park Ranger Mary Kay Manning at 409-951-6720. 

For general information about Big Thicket National Preserve, visit www.nps.gov/bith or call the preserve visitor center at 409-951-6700.