PERCEPTIONS OF SPECIES ABUNDANCE, DISTRIBUTION, AND DIVERSITY - LESSONS FROM 4 DECADES OF SAMPLING ON A GOVERNMENT-MANAGED RESERVE

We examined data relative to species abundance, distribution, and dive rsity patterns of reptiles and amphibians to determine how perceptions change over time and with level of sampling effort. Location data wer e complied on more than one million individual captures or observation s of 98 species during a 44-year study period on the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Savannah River Site National Environmental Research Par k (SRS-NERP) in South Carolina. We suggest that perceptions of herpeto faunal species diversity are strongly dependent on level of effort and that land management decisions based on short-term data bases for som e faunal groups could result in serious errors in environmental manage ment. We provide evidence that acquiring information on biodiversity d istribution patterns is compatible with multiyear spatially extensive research programs and also provide a perspective of what might be achi eved if long-term, coordinated research efforts were instituted nation wide. To conduct biotic surveys on government-managed lands, we recomm end revisions in the methods used by government agencies to acquire an d report biodiversity data. We suggest that government and industry em ployees engaged in biodiversity survey efforts develop proficiency in field identification for one or more major taxonomic groups and be enc ouraged to measure the status of populations quantitatively with consi stent and reliable methodologies. We also suggest that widespread acad emic cooperation in the dissemination of information on regional patte rns of biodiversity could result by establishment of a peer-reviewed, scientifically rigorous journal concerned with status and trends of th e biota of the United States.