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Vernal Pools
What are Vernal Pools:
Vernal Pools are temporary bodies of water found across our landscape that provide critical habitat for a suite of vulnerable species. The typical, or classic Vernal Pool of our area is often considered to be a woodland depression filled by winter snowmelt and spring rains. A number of amphibians such as the state-listed Blue-spotted and Jefferson's Salamanders, as well as the Spotted Salamander and the Wood Frog are completely dependant upon these temporary pools for their entire breeding success. Other species, such as the Fairy Shrimp, are found only in Vernal Pools throughout their entire lifecycle. The key to the Vernal Pool is its fleeting annual existence. Though pools need to hold water for at least two months beginning in early spring to ensure the survival of the amphibian larvae born to them, it is critical that the pool dry out each year to assure that fish can not establish a population in the pool. It is in this temporary environment, free from the predatory nature of fish, that the pools' occupants have evolved. But unfortunately, it 's also the pools' fleeting existence that make them vulnerable habitats in the modern day as they are often overlooked and lost to development. And it's not only the immediate pool that's critical. The surrounding natural landscape supports many of these creatures outside of the breeding season and is of equal importance. While the Vernal Pool acts as a central feature in many of these species lives, it is only half of the story of their small universes. What You Can Do:
Happily, there are good laws protecting Vernal Pools and their occupants, and this protection begins with a pool's Certification. Once certified, a Vernal Pool can not be destroyed, or even altered, and often a buffer zone will be established around the pool. Anyone can certify a Vernal Pool, but there is a specific, though often interesting process for documenting a site. Certification is done through the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, and consists of the completion of an official Field Form. The Field Form, along with more of Natural Heritage's Vernal Pool information can be downloaded at http://www.state.ma.us/dfwele/dfw/nhesp/nhvernal.h . Certifying a Vernal Pool is a relatively easy way to make an important and lasting contribution to local conservation. Once you locate a pool, all it takes is about an hour in the field, a camera to photograph the pool, and a few minutes to fill out the paperwork. Locating a Pool:
Finding Vernal Pools can become fairly easy to do, and after you have found a few you'll often end up coming across them without even trying. In winter, look for shallow depressions in the forest that have a layer of ice on them, but no obvious inlet or outlet. You also may find small areas where the vegetation is markedly different (wetland plants growing in an upland basin), or small areas where the leaf litter appears bleached and compressed. Both scenarios suggest annual inundation and are good candidates for re-checking in the spring. Spring is a great time to find your first pools as they are often obvious. Visually, most pools are a simply a shallow depression filled with water. Often you will see the ripples left behind by Wood Frogs as you approach, or you may even see the egg masses of frogs and salamanders within the pool. Another great way to find pools is to listen for the calls of Wood Frogs, often at dusk and at night, though they will call throughout the day. The call has been likened to the quack of a duck, and if there is an active group of Wood Frogs, the noise can be near deafening. For more detailed information on Vernal Pool life and the legal aspects
of their protection, visit http://www.vernalpool.org/vernal_1.htm.
Finally, A Field Guide to the Animals of Vernal Pools by Leo
P. Kenney and Matthew R. Burke is a great publication put out by Natural Heritage. http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/nhesp/nhpubrare.htm#vernpubs
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