Description
Data Records
The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 112 records.
This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.
Versions
The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.
How to cite
Researchers should cite this work as follows:
Dokhelar T, Besnard A (2026). CROA Project: Urban Amphibian Occurrences and Monitoring in Southern France. Version 1.4. Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle & Evolutive (CEFE). Occurrence dataset. https://ipt.gbif.fr/resource?r=croa_cefe&v=1.4
Rights
Researchers should respect the following rights statement:
The publisher and rights holder of this work is Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle & Evolutive (CEFE). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.
GBIF Registration
This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 9fd8ed05-3ae6-453a-878a-c0a272a2b849. Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle & Evolutive (CEFE) publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by GBIF France.
Keywords
amphibians freshwater habitats wetlands urban environments urban ecology long-term monitoring biodiversity monitoring citizen science population monitoring population dynamics reproductive activity sampling effort field surveys species occurrence conservation biology occurence; Observation
Contacts
https://orcid.org/https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8780-767X
- Originator ●
- Point Of Contact
Geographic Coverage
N/A
| Bounding Coordinates | South West [43.624, 3.822], North East [43.664, 3.888] |
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Project Data
No Description available
| Title | CROA Project: Amphibians in Urban Environments (CEFE) |
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The personnel involved in the project:
Sampling Methods
Sampling follows a standardized field protocol based on repeated surveys of spatial grid cells during the amphibian reproductive season. Each grid cell is surveyed up to three times per year, ideally once in early spring (March–April), once in mid-spring (May), and once in late spring (June), in order to capture the phenology of different species and life stages. Surveys are primarily conducted at night, when amphibian activity and detectability are highest, using visual searches with headlamps and acoustic detection of calling males. Daytime surveys are occasionally carried out in sites with restricted nocturnal access. During each visit, all amphibians observed are recorded, including species identity (or the most precise taxonomic level possible), life stage (adult, juvenile, egg mass, tadpole), estimated abundance, and behavioral context (e.g. calling, in water, on land). In parallel, all aquatic habitats encountered within each grid cell are inventoried and characterized, allowing the monitoring of breeding sites and habitat availability over time.
| Study Extent | The CROA project focuses on monitoring amphibian populations in urban and peri-urban environments in the northern part of Montpellier and surrounding municipalities (southern France). The study area is subdivided into predefined spatial grid cells (mailles), each identified by a unique identifier, covering a mosaic of habitats including urban parks, residential areas, wastelands, riverbanks, retention basins, wetlands, and other aquatic or semi-aquatic environments. Data have been collected continuously since 2023, with surveys conducted during the amphibian breeding season from March to June. The spatial and temporal extent of the dataset reflects variations in sampling effort between years, while providing long-term baseline information on species occurrence, breeding activity, and habitat use in an urban context. |
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Method step description:
- Field data are collected directly in the field using the QField mobile application. For each survey event, general information is recorded at the grid-cell level, including date, survey type (diurnal or nocturnal), weather conditions, survey duration, dominant habitat type, and list of observers. Each amphibian observation is then entered as an individual record linked to the corresponding grid cell and date. When species-level identification is uncertain, generic taxonomic categories (e.g. sp. or “undetermined”) are used, optionally accompanied by explanatory remarks. Aquatic habitats are digitized as polygons and described using standardized attributes (habitat type, estimated depth, permanence, presence of fish or crayfish). After field collection, data are exported, quality-checked, taxonomically harmonized using national reference lists, and structured into relational tables. Occurrence data are then transformed into Darwin Core format for publication through GBIF, ensuring interoperability and long-term accessibility.
Additional Metadata
| Acknowledgements | |
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| Alternative Identifiers | 9fd8ed05-3ae6-453a-878a-c0a272a2b849 |
| https://ipt.gbif.fr/resource?r=croa_cefe |