Amphibians and reptiles have recently been recognized as good indicators of aquatic ecosystem health. Their biphasic (aquatic and terrestrial) life cycle, sensitive physiology, mid-level position in food webs, and high relative abundances are characteristics that make many of these species good candidates for monitoring changes in riparian and aquatic conditions. Though many urban streams have been significantly altered from "natural" conditions, some species of amphibians and reptiles do inhabit them. Some of the impacts of urbanization include: changes in the hydrologic regime, in stream habitat degradation, changes in water quality, riparian habitat and vegetation changes, changes in the invertebrate (prey) community, and creation of barriers to migration/dispersal (roads, railroad tracks, etc.). This discussion provides an overview of amphibian and reptiles found in riparian/aquatic habitats of northern coastal California. Differences in species life requisites are described and sensitive species identified. Habitat needs and physiological requirements are emphasized relative to existing conditions in urban streams (both local and other regions). This assessment also provides a view of future conditions, which could be achieved through restoration activities, that would increase the likelihood of certain species existing in urban watersheds. The first step in any restoration program is to compile information on native species, their life history and habitat needs. Specific recommendations for urban stream restoration include: providing riparian buffer strips with native vegetation and limited ground disturbance, maintaining physical connections to pristine or less-disturbed habitats through "protected corridors", maintaining stream habitat complexity, providing passages through migration/dispersal barriers (e.g. under-road tunnels), controlling polluting run-off, and monitoring relevant water quality parameters.
Amphibian and Reptile Natural History / Identification Guides and Sampling Methods
Corkran, C.C. and C. Thoms. 1996. Amphibians of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia: a Field Identification Guide. Lone Pine Publishing. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Heyer, W.R., M.A. Donnelly, R.W. McDiarmid, L-A. C. Hayek, and M.S. Foster. 1994. Measuring and Monitoring Biological Diversity: Standard Methods for Amphibians. Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington, D.C.
Leonard, W.P., H.A. Brown, L.L.C. Jones, K.R. McAllister, and R.M. Storm. 1993. Amphibians of Washington and Oregon. Seattle Audubon Society. Seattle, Washington.
Nussbaum, R.A., E.D. Brodie, Jr., and R.M. Storm. 1983. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Pacific Northwest. The University of Idaho Press. Moscow, Idaho.
Stebbins, R. C. 1985. Western Reptiles and Amphibians. Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston, Massachusetts. Storm, R.M. and W.P. Leonard. 1995.
Reptiles of Washington and Oregon. Seattle Audubon Society. Seattle, Washington.
Welsh, H.H., Jr. and L.M. Ollivier. IN PRESS. A habitat-based design for sampling and monitoring stream amphibians with an illustration from Redwood National Park. Northwest Naturalist.
Riparian Zones and Buffers
Erman, D.C. and D. Mahoney. 1983. Recovery after logging in streams with and without bufferstrips in northern California. California Water Resources Center, University of California, Davis, California. Contribution 186.
Gregory, S.V., F.J. Swanson, W.A. McKee, and K.W. Cummins. 1991. An ecosystem perspective of riparian zones: focus on links between land and water. BioScience 41:540-551.
Ledwith, T. 1996. The effects of buffer strip width on air temperature and relative humidity in a stream riparian zone. Watershed Management Council Networker, Summer.
Rudolph, D.C. and J.G. Dickson. 1990. Streamside zone width and amphibian and reptile abundance. Southwestern Naturalist 35:472-476.
Urbanization Effects - Stream Habitat and Hydrologic Regimes
Booth, D.B. 1991. Urbanization and the natural drainage system - impacts solutions, and prognoses. Northwest Environmental Journal 7:93-118.
Booth, D.B. 1990. Stream-channel incision following drainage-basin urbanization. Water Resources Bulletin 26:407-417.
Booth, D.B. and L.E. Reinelt. 1993. Consequences of urbanization on aquatic systems - measured effects, degradation thresholds, and corrective strategies. Proceedings of Watershed '93: A National Conference on Watershed Management. Alexandria, Virginia.
Hollis, G.E. 1975. The effects of urbanization on floods of different recurrence intervals. Water Resources Research 11:431-435.
Saver, V.B., W.O. Thomas, Jr., V.A. Stricker, and K.V. Wilson. 1983. Flood characteristics of urban watersheds in the United States. U.S. Geological Survey Water Supply Paper 2207.
General Urbanization Effects - Amphibians and Reptiles
Azous, A.L. and K.O. Richter. 1995. Amphibians and plant community responses to changing hydrology in urban wetlands. Proceedings of Puget Sound Research '95, Bellvue, Washinton.
Cooke, A.S. 1985. The deposition and fate of spawn clumps of the common frog Rana temporaria at a site in Cambridgeshire, 1971-1983.
Ilosvay, G. 1977. Effect of urbanization on the herpetofauna of a settlement a the Tisza. Tiscia 12:123-130.
Minton, S.A. Jr. 1968. The fate of amphibians and reptiles in a suburban area. Journal of Herpetology 2:113-116.
Platin, T.J. and K.O. Richter. 1995. Amphibians as bio-indicators of stress associated with watershed urbanization. Proceedings of Puget Sound Research '95, Bellvue, Washington.
Power, T., K.L. Clarke, A. Harfenist, and D.B. Peakall. 1989. A review and evaluation of the amphibian toxicological literature. Canadian Wildlife Service headquarters (Ottawa), Technical Report 61.
Richter, K.O, and A.L. Azous. 1995. Amphibian occurrence and wetland characteristics in the Puget Sound Basin. Wetlands 15:305-312.
Vershinin, V.L. 1990. Anomalous amphibian egg deposits in an area of urban agglomeration. Soviet Journal of Ecology 21:153-158.
Effects of Roads on Wildlife
Evink, G., D. Ziegler, P. Garrett, and J. Berry. 1996. Transportation and Wildlife: Reducing Wildlife Mortality and Improving Wildlife Passageways Across Transportation Corridors. Proceedings of the Florida Department of Transportation/Federal Highway Administration Transportation-Related Wildlife Mortality Seminar. Orlando, Florida.
Fahrig, L. J.H. Pedlar, S.E. Pope, P.D. Taylor, and J.F. Wagner. 1995. Effect of road traffic on amphibian density. Biological Conservation 73:177-182.
Leeuwen, B.H. 1982. Protection of migrating common toad (Bufo bufo) against car traffic in the Netherlands. Environmental Conservation 9:34.
Mader, H-J. 1984. Animal habitat isolation by roads and agricultural fields. Biological Conservation 29:81-96.
Reh, W. and A. Seitz. 1990. The influence of land use on genetic structure of populations of the common frog Rana temporaria. Biological Conservation 54:239-249.
Rosen, P.C. and C.H. Lowe. 1994. Highway mortality of snakes in the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona. Biological Conservation 68:143-148.
Tyning, T. 1989. Amherst's tunneling amphibians. Defenders (of Wildlife Magazine) (Sept/Oct):20-23.
Yanes, M., J.M. Velasco, and F. Suarez. 1995. Permeability of roads and railways to vertebrates: the importance of culverts. Biological Conservation 71:217-222.
Stream/Wetland Restoration Relevant to Amphibians and Reptiles
Morrison, M.L., T.Tennant, and T.A. Scott. 1994. Environmental auditing: laying the foundation for a comprehensive program for wildife habitat in a riparian floodplain. Environmental Management 18:939-955.
Richter, K.O. IN REVIEW. Criteria for the restoration and creation of wetland habitats for lentic-breeding amphibians of the Puget Sound Basin 1: Site Selection Criteria. Restoration Ecology.
Richter, K.O. IN REVIEW. Criteria for the restoration and creation of wetland habitats for lentic-breeding amphibians of the Puget Sound Basin 2: Spawning Habitat Design Criteria. Restoration Ecology.
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