With worldwide concern about amphibian declines in the 1980s, Massachusetts conservationists surveyed amphibian populations; strengthened protection for breeding areas, including temporary ponds commonly known as vernal pools; and inventoried aquatic communities in breeding pools statewide. Over the past 35 years, teacher-naturalists at Massachusetts Audubon’s Drumlin Farm Sanctuary have introduced children and adults to macroinvertebrates and amphibians of temporary and permanent ponds through regular sampling programs, and some educators began monthly surveys. Recently there has been interest in reviewing the long-term sampling data to identify changes in pond communities, assess effects of climate change on pond hydrology, and guide ecological management practices.
We compared long-term data from surveys by sanctuary staff, school groups, and volunteers from 2009 through 2025 (“Sanctuary data”) with results of comprehensive inventories by staff scientists in the 1990s (“Inventory data”). The data sets differ in sampling details (time-limited dipping with a kitchen strainer on a 2-m section of bank vs standardized D-net sweeps at multiple random within-pool locations), level of taxonomic identification (field identification, mostly to Order or Family, vs. best achievable taxonomic level in the laboratory), and frequency (Sanctuary sampling occurs almost weekly to monthly, year-round; Inventory sampling was in spring over several years, with limited additional sampling).
There was considerable similarity in Order and Sub-Order results from the two data sets for specific ponds. The limited Sanctuary taxonomic resolution prevents confirmation of amphibian breeding in some ponds and years. The Inventory found high diversity in Dytiscidae and other Coleoptera; this is not reflected in the Sanctuary records limited to “beetle” or “diving beetle.” Similar limitations exist for other taxa.
We recommend some modifications to the data form, including: Add “amphibian egg masses” and species names of amphibians (e.g., “wood frog”) to “salamander” and “frog;” provide three size classes for Dytiscidae and Hydrophilidae and add Haliplidae to increase the detail on Coleoptera; and more. The additional detail may challenge some Sanctuary samplers, but we are confident that many will be eager to make the distinction, enhancing the usefulness of the data and increasing the educational value for schoolchildren and adults becoming aware of biological diversity.