The Rainbow Bay Long-term Study
David Scott, Brian Metts, Judy Greene, and Whit Gibbons
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Many years have passed since schoolchildren first discovered hundreds of malformed frogs in a Minnesota farm pond. More than a decade has elapsed since scientists initiated earnest discussions concerning "global amphibian decline." Still, many questions addressing the decline and disappearance of frogs, toads, and salamanders remain unanswered. Which species? How many individuals? Where? And why? |
| All these questions are the focus of global, ongoing research efforts. Researchers are investigating the myriad possible causes of decline: wetland loss, chytrid fungus, ozone depletion, aquatic contaminants, endocrine disruption, introduced predators, parasites, acid rain... or is it simply a natural process that amphibian numbers bounce up and down to extremes? Regardless of the research topic, in virtually every scientific discussion of the amphibian crisis, one research project is mentioned as a model for acquiring the long-term baseline data needed to understand amphibian population fluctuations. That study is the 28-year Rainbow Bay Monitoring Project at the Savannah River Site (SRS). |
| Rainbow Bay is a 2.4-acre isolated seasonal wetland in the center of the SRS. Sampling
of the amphibian and reptile communities that use the wetland, as well as the surrounding
85-acre terrestrial habitat, began in September 1978. Animal populations have been
censused daily since initiation of the study, making this project the
longest running of its kind in the world. More than 60 scientific articles on the fauna of
this wetland have been published, making it one of the best-studied habitats of its type.
Although this study was initiated by the Department of Energy to assess potential
ecological impacts of construction of a high-level waste vitrification facility (the
Defense Waste Processing Facility), it has achieved that monitoring goal and much more.
Daily records of the amphibians and reptiles of Rainbow Bay have provided an extensive
database regarding seasonal and annual variation in amphibian numbers at a site that
remains relatively unimpacted by human activities. SREL's data have become critically
important to the scientific and conservation communities in light of concerns about
declining amphibian populations worldwide. The fact that amphibian breeding populations
have not declined at Rainbow Bay suggests that the role of the SRS as a center for
biological diversity in the southeastern United States is significant, much to the credit
of DOE. Continued research at Rainbow Bay will allow SREL scientists to make better
predictions regarding the ecological impacts of future Savannah River Site operations and
forest management activities. Select reprints:
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