Rhode Island Vernal Pools
Vernal pools, also referred to as vernal ponds, are temporary pools of water created by snow melt and spring rains (hence the name ?vernal,? which is derived from the Latin word for spring). In most years, they dry up during the summer. Many types of Salamander and frogs depend on vernal ponds. For example, the pools are also the only breeding sites for the wood frog .
Waterfowl are often seen stopping at them. Vernal ponds are best known for their amphibians, but they have all sorts of unique organisms.
?They are the underdogs of wetlands,? said Mike McCarthy, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ?They are easily overlooked and easily destroyed. By definition, they are small and isolated from other waterbodies, and at certain times of the year some of them dry up, making them unrecognizable. That is why these habitats need some special protection.?
In places where people have made estimates, the losses can be staggering. In California, it thought that less than 7 percent of the state's original vernal ponds remain.
Protecting something no one knows about is difficult. Some states are developing volunteer programs, often using high school biology classes, to find ponds. In Massachusetts, where McCarthy was once a high school teacher, an entire manual has been developed which students use to locate ponds and certify ? based on the species found there ? that they are indeed vernal pools.
More than 1,000 vernal pools in the state are now certified and get special protection. The program, initiated by Reading Memorial High School biology teacher Leo Kenney, has not only provided the state with valuable information, it has been a hit with students and become a model for other programs across the nation. ?Students are so well-trained because of the efforts of Leo Kenney and others,? McCarthy said, ?that they are training teachers to go out and certify.?
Source: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/wrcf/keynotes/summer00/vernal_ponds.html
What Is That Oversized Puddle In My Backyard? - A slide program by Laura Viegas, Reading Memorial High School, Reading, MA http://www.vernalpool.org/viegas2.htm
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