Ecology

Skunks

Food Web

 

Vernal pools might not seem very important but they are.  On this web page, I am going to tell you about them...

A vernal pool, because of its periodic drying, does not support breeding populations of fish. Many organisms have evolved to use a temporary wetland which will dry but where they are not eaten by fish. These organisms are the "obligate" vernal pool species, they are called that because they must use a vernal pool for various parts of their life cycle. If the obligate species are using a body of water, then that water is a vernal pool. In New England, the easily recognizable obligate species are the fairy shrimp, the mole salamanders and the wood frog.

Here are some different organisms that live in vernal pools and depend on them to lay their eggs and for some of them, live until they dry up and die.

Frogs:

Salamanders:

The Fairy Shrimp:

Here are some examples of eggs that the different species above lay in the vernal pools...

Frog eggs:     Salamander eggs:     Shrimp eggs:    If you see a vernal pool keep an eye out for these eggs! (Though i think that the shrimp eggs are microscopic or very close to it)

More about the fairy shrimp:  Fairy shrimp are easily identified in vernal pools. They appear as 1/2 to 1 1/2 inch crustaceans swimming upside down (ventral side up). The adult fairy shrimp have stalked compound eyes, two sets of antennae, and 11 pairs of leaf-like swimming legs. Coloration is usually red-orange due to the hemoglobin in the shrimp, but can range from translucent whitish to gray, blue or green. Because coloration is determined by the contents of the food supply in the pool which the shrimp inhabit, it is usually constant among the individuals of the pool. ~http://www.vernalpool.org/inf_fs.htm To Learn even more about fariy shrimp..... Click Here!

More about Vernal Pools

Vernal pools may only contain water for a relatively short period of time, they serve as essential breeding habitat for certain species of wildlife, including salamanders and frogs. Since vernal pools dry out on a regular basis, they cannot support permanent populations of fish. The absence of fish provides an important ecological advantage for species that have adapted to vernal pools, because their eggs and young are safe from predation. ~http://www.maine.gov/dep/blwq/wetlands/vernal.htm