The importance of surveying Herpetofauna in EIAs

Painted wood turtle aka Galap (Rhinoclemmys punctularia). Photo by Renoir Auguste. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is an important tool used to help mitigate threats to biodiversity during anthropogenic development. Ecological surveys of fauna and flora are a core component of EIAs to gauge potential threats to wildlife in a proposed development area. Among fauna surveyed, the majority of assessments historically surved have been done on birds (for terrestrial areas) and freshwater and marine benthic organisms (for aquatic areas). Birds are relatively easy to survey. They often fly within sight, and also have distinct calls for the more secretive species. However, herpetofauna (amphibians and reptiles) should be given more consdieration for all EIAs moving forward. Amphibians are among the most threatened animals globally. They are sensitive to both terrestrial and aquatic pollution, and are especially susceptible to habitat loss. Amphibians would make ideal organisms to assess the biodiversity of a particular area. In addition to their sensitivity to habitat alteration, they make up important components of ecosystems, acting as predator and prey to a variety of other animals, and also can provide health benefits to people through research on their medically important compounds and diet comprising disease carrying mosquitoes. Amphibians can be secretive in habitats where they occur, but like birds, they also have species specific calls that can be used to identify and more easily record their presence. Trained herpetologists who can identify frog calls can thereofore be useed to help survey amphibians in an area. Reptiles also comprise important animals in ecosystems. They are mostly predators but also prey to many other animals. However, unlike amphibians, they do not make species specific calls (except some geckos), so tend to be more challenging to survey quantitatively. Reptiles (e.g. lizards), though, do tend to sometimes exhibit site fidelity, which means they like sticking around a particular area. This could then be used to assess where they like to live, and environmental conditions they prefer. This information can better inform EIAs. There are a lack of trained herpetologists that can identify frog calls and identify certain elusive reptiles in the country. If you are an EIA reviewer, developer, or consultant, we urge you to consider having herpetofauna as species to be surveyed in EIAs. Surveying for one taxa but not other major ones leaves an important gap in how biodviersity could be impacted by development. It is our responsibility to ensure all wildlife are managed sustainably. For more information on this post, do not hesitate to contact the author.