Evaluating amphibian communities in wetland and aquatic habitats can yield insights into habitat function and condition. Amphibians have been used as indicators of water quality, restoration success, and wetland hydrology. One method of using amphibians as indicators is the Amphibian Quality Assessment Index (AQAI), which is based on ratings of each amphibian species’ sensitivity to anthropogenic disturbance and the broadness of its niche. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency currently uses an AQAI as part of their wetland assessment program and mitigation success assessment.

The AQAI employs the use of Coefficients of Conservatism (C values) as estimates of sensitivity to anthropogenically driven perturbations. C values are developed by experts, usually by consensus, on a scale from 0 to 10 for each species. High C values are associated with species restricted to high quality, undegraded habitats; low C values represent species found in a broad range of habitats, usually with a strong tolerance for anthropogenic disturbance. The NCDWR wetland science team brought together expert herpetologists from across North Carolina to assign C values to wetland-dependent amphibians, to create ratings to facilitate calculation of the AQAI in NC and possibly serve as a model for other states.

The panel assigned C values to 71 wetland and aquatic amphibian species of North Carolina, evaluating each species in the context of what that species indicated about the quality of wetland or aquatic habitat. This database and index can be useful for identifying wetland and aquatic habitats of high conservation value, following sites through time, and gauging ecological condition.