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Citizen Science Coverboard Project
Be productive in your own backyard!
Background Information for Volunteers
Reptiles and amphibians (aka herps) make up a small portion of all the wildlife in Canada. Many herps are facing direct threats by humans (e.g. habitat destruction for development), and indirect threats such as impacts caused by fungal diseases and climate change. Southwestern Ontario is home to a small ecoregion, called the Carolinian zone of Canada. Because of the regions warmer climate and its limited extent, it also supports high biodiversity, and is home to many rare herp species. Consequently, our conservation work targets herps in Niagara, Hamilton and Haldimand.
Out of the 54 species of herps in Ontario, 17 are classified as a species-at-risk in the Niagara region; seven turtles, five snakes, three salamanders, one toad, and one lizard. Some species are assumed to be in decline because they have not been found recently, or they have not been sufficiently studied to establish whether they are at risk. Therefore, collecting observational data for all herps in a consistent manner is required to take the next steps in protecting the biodiversity of this region.
Many herps are hard to find, as it is their nature to remain hidden to avoid predators. There are even some species that are so cryptic we almost never see them! Biologists have discovered over the years that the use of coverboards or cover objects help increase the chances of humans observing rare and cryptic wildlife.
This project is about enlisting the help of the general public to improve our chances of confirming that these rare or cryptic species (mainly snakes and salamanders) still exist in the urbanizing landscape of southwestern Ontario.
Objectives
Our primary objective is to create a network of citizen science volunteers to monitor wildlife coverboards in a standardized way on their own private lands, using our data collection tool, My Field App.
Our secondary objective is to encourage citizens to document wildlife whenever they can. This includes walking on trails, in parks, near shorelines, and even on a sidewalk. These are called incidental observations and are welcome additions to the database.
Click here for more information about our data collection tools like My Field App.
Types of Coverboards
For this project, volunteers are asked to keep three coverboards, one of each type, on their lands. We are testing the effectiveness of each design on providing habitat for different herp species.
Method Instructions for Volunteers
Step 1 - coverboard installation
Since we are targeting snakes and salamanders, ideal locations to place coverboards are within “edge habitat” (i.e. any grassy/leafy area along a forested edge, or hedgerow, or unused field).
Avoid placing boards, especially Type 3 onto flat, muddy places! Type 3 boards are flat and prone to sticking tight to the ground. If you place a few small sticks underneath, it will help to keep the board from sticking while maintaining an air space. If you have a fenced in property without these kinds of habitats, placing boards along a fence or shed would be best. Boards may be placed in full sun or partly sunny areas.
Try to avoid fully shaded areas as they may be too cold.
Step 2 - coverboard labels
Each coverboard must have a label placed on the ground underneath. The label helps us identify the type of board, and scale for the size and colour of any animals nearby in the photo.
Try to include the label in the photo view when collecting data!
Step 3 - coverboard etiquette
Coverboards are artificially made cover objects for small animals, and some use this habitat for long periods of time (i.e. gestating snakes and nesting mammals).
Please do not stand on the boards as even a child’s body weight will be enough to crush the animals hiding beneath. Also, please avoid dropping the boards from a lifted position when animals are observed underneath.
Often, a snake or salamander will not move when the board is lifted, so you will have time to snap a few photos and gently place the board back on the ground. Sometimes, snakes will get startled when you try to put the board back down and move under the beams. In this case, please wait until the snake or other animal has left the board area before gently placing the board flat on the ground.
Step 4 - data collection
Choose one day during the week that you will check the boards for animal activity – you do not need to check more often. Once per week will allow the animals enough time to feel safe enough to return. Please note that coverboards usually take some time (1-2 years!) before snakes find and start using them regularly.
You can lift the boards at any time of day. However, high activity times depend on temperature. In the spring and fall the warmest time of day is the best viewing time. In the middle of the hot summer, mornings and evenings increase your chances of finding something.
On your data collection day – go to your boards with My Field App open on your phone, ready to take a photo. Lift the board carefully from the middle and take your time to look for animals... they may be hidden and hard to see at first.
**If you live near Massasauga habitat, please be cautious and use your foot to wedge the board off the ground before lifting with your hands.
It is important that you take a photo of the ground under the boards regardless of animal presence. This will help us determine seasonal activity of different species.
In the app you should indicate which project you are collecting data for. Go to the drop-down menu for Project Name and select “Citizen Science Coverboard Project”.
If you did not observe anything you do not need to enter anything more and click “Save”.
If you did observe an animal under your coverboard, go to the drop-down menu for Specimen Type and choose a category (i.e. snake, salamander, small mammal, etc.), and then under the Species drop-down menu you can choose one of the options presented. If you do not know the species, you can leave it blank and click "Save".
My Field App allows up to 20 photos saved within the app. You must “Upload” these photos to your Aerial diary when you have a Wi-Fi or network connection. Aerial is the 8Trees managed cloud database. You can view your entire field diary on Aerial using your phone or computer.
Sometimes you will find more than one animal under your coverboard. First, use the app to take a photo of the whole coverboard area, so the label and all animals are captured in one photo. If you have time after this, take closer up photos of the animals under the boards, and submit with the same information. If you are not sure of the identification, indicate you do not know and we will verify the species identification once you upload the image to Aerial.
For how long do volunteers need to participate?
Volunteers can participate in this study for as long as they like! The coverboards might take 1-2 years to season and begin to attract snakes and salamanders, and our study is intended to be long-term. Volunteers can decide to participate for one season (April - October) or several years!
The Massasauga and it's look-alikes
Some harmless species may look like - or mimic venomous snake behaviour in order to scare off predators. Some behaviour mimicry includes tail vibration against leaves to sound like a rattle, or stretching out their neck skin to mimic a cobra.
The Massasauga is the only venomous snake in Ontario. There are three distinct populations but each have their own status (Georgian Bay/Bruce Peninsula (TH), Niagara (EN) and Ojibway (EN) ). The populations existing in southwestern Ontario live in isolation from each other and are prone to declines as their habitat has been left in degraded conditions. There is much research underway on Massasauga population recovery and habitat management in Canada and the United States. See a recent publication (Yagi et al., 2020) that delves into this subject further!
For both human safety and species recovery purposes, it is important to know the differences between Massasaugas and other mottled snakes that live in Ontario.
Ontario snakes with Mottled patterns
Massasauga
The Massasauga rattlesnake is a heavy-bodied snake, usually sporting a rattle on the end of their tails (unless their rattle has recently broken off!). They range from grey-brown to tan-brown with a darker brown mottled pattern or blotches down the body. Their bellies are distinctively dark/black with no pattern.
As it is characteristic for rattlesnakes, Massasaugas have distinct heat-sensing pits on their face (between their nostril and eye), as well as vertical pupils and a triangular-shaped head.
This species is normally very cryptic and tends to hide away to avoid people.
Visit the Ontario Reptile & Amphibian Atlas for more information.
Northern Watersnake
Northern watersnakes are rather common, and are often found near wetlands and along edges of waterbodies since they feed primarily on fish and amphibians. They are also heavy-bodied snakes, that are brown to dark brown in color, usually with a reddish-brown banding pattern. Juvenile watersnakes look more mottled and can be easily confused with other similar looking species.
Visit the Ontario Reptile & Amphibian Atlas for more information.
Milksnake
Milksnakes in Ontario are less common than they used to be (although their status has recently changed from SC to NAR). They are often light grey to tan colored with a brown to reddish brown mottled pattern with a dark outline. These are more slender bodied snakes, with smooth scales and a noticeable "Y" pattern on the top of their head.
Visit the Ontario Reptile & Amphibian Atlas for more information.
Eastern Foxsnake
This is the third-largest snake in Ontario, similar in shape to the Gray ratsnake. The foxsnakes are usually a yellow-brown color with dark brown to black blotches down the back and smaller blotches in two rows down their sides. The head is uniquely orange-brown and has a light belly with alternating dark patches.
Visit the Ontario Reptile & Amphibian Atlas for more information.
Juvenile Gray Ratsnake
While the adults are solid black in color and are the largest snake in Ontario (> 2 m in length), the juveniles hatch out from eggs with a light grey body and dark brown blotches. The belly of Grey ratsnakes is light coloured with dark patches in a distinctive checkerboard pattern.
Visit the Ontario Reptile & Amphibian Atlas for more information.
Eastern Hog-nosed snake
This snake is also heavy-bodied, and is named for the upturned scale at the tip of its nose. This snake can be found in a variety of colors and patterns. Some individuals have dark blotches or mottles on a lighter background, similar to other mottled snake species.
Hog-nosed snakes also exhibit a unique behaviour when encountering a predator, where it will fan out its neck to mimic a cobra hood. This species will also "play dead" by flipping on its back and hanging out its tongue if provoked further.
Visit the Ontario Reptile & Amphibian Atlas for more information.