Temporal and Spatial Assessment of the Maritime Forest Herpetofauna Diversity on a Barrier Island in North Carolina

Monitoring biodiversity over time allows for temporal comparisons of community composition and potential shifts in community resilience. We surveyed the herpetofauna assemblage at a maritime forest in Dare County, NC, during late spring and summer of 2012, which was 25 years since the last survey. Our goal was to resurvey the preserve and compare the alpha (α), beta (β), and gamma (γ) diversity values between 1987 and 2012 to quantify changes in assemblage composition using similarity indices. We found that assemblage structure became less similar temporally and spatially at the different habitats sampled but remained similar between survey years. Our study shows the importance of resurveying preserve diversity to determine shifts in assemblage and loss of biodiversity.