We want to monitor the frogs at Patrick Marsh because frogs are widely considered to be early warning indicators of potential human health risks due to the environment. They are a kind of ecological equivalent to the “canary in the coal-mine“ alarm system. Because frogs are extremely sensitive to environmental changes and declines in their population levels or health changes in individuals are often the first signs of something out of balance in an ecosystem. Frog populations around the world are shrinking. Causes have been linked to parasites and pesticides. There has also been an increase in the report of deformed frogs. So far we haven't found any. We are also interested in salamanders because an increasing or stable number of salamanders would indicate that the ecosystem's balance of invertebrates, leaf litter, moisture, pH, debris, burrows, and other habitat features were positive, while declines would mean a decline in the environmental conditions.