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1994 MARYLAND BIOLOGICAL STREAM SURVEY HERPETOFAUNA (HERPS94)
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THE MARYLAND BIOLOGICAL STREAM SURVEY (MBSS) IS A MULTI-YEAR PROBABILITY-BASED SAMPLING PROGRAM DESIGNED TO ASSESS THE STATUS OF BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES IN NON-TIDAL STREAMS OF MARYLAND. THE MBSS STUDY AREA COMPRISES EIGHTEEN DRAINAGE BASINS ACROSS THE STATE OF MARYLAND, PROVIDING BIOLOGICAL, WATER CHEMISTRY, AND PHYSICAL HABITAT DATA FOR APPROXIMATELY 300 FIRST- THROUGH THIRD-ORDER STREAM SITES PER YEAR. DURING 1994, THE PROGRAM CONDUCTED A DEMONSTRATION PROJECT TO TEST FIELD PROTOCOLS AND REFINE THE SAMPLING DESIGN PRIOR TO FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MBSS DURING 1995-1997. SAMPLING FOR THE 1994 DEMONSTRATION PROJECT WAS CONDUCTED IN SEVEN BASINS: YOUGHIOGHENY, POTOMAC-WASHINGTON METRO, PATUXENT, WEST CHESAPEAKE, SUSQUEHANNA, CHOPTANK, AND POCOMOKE. THE DATA SET HERPS94 CONTAINS PRESENCE/ABSENCE DATA ON HERPETOFAUNA (REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS) FOUND IN AND ALONG EACH 75-METER STREAM SEGMENT SAMPLED DURING THE SUMMER INDEX PERIOD. SEARCHES FOR HERPETOFAUNA WERE CONDUCTED WITHIN EACH STREAM SEGMENT AND IN RIPARIAN HABITATS WITHIN 5 M OF THE STREAM. INDIVIDUALS WERE IDENTIFIED TO SPECIES LEVEL WHEN POSSIBLE. DATA ARE FROM THE 1994 MBSS DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.