Jason P. Love

Engaging Youth in Wildlife Research: Using Coverboards to Inventory and Monitor Salamanders in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Coverboards are being used more frequently as an efficient method to inventory and monitor terrestrial salamanders. In summer 2006, we established a study to inventory and monitor salamanders at Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, a residential environmental learning center located in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. Our goals were to: 1) compare the effectiveness of two different types of coverboards in attracting salamanders; 2) compare salamander diversity and abundance between hardwood and eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) forests; 3) establish a long-term...