Vernal Pools Project
Vernal pools are temporary ponds that are important breeding areas and nurseries for certain kinds of salamanders, as well as wood frogs and fairy shrimp. They often occur in depressions in wooded areas, and contain water from snow melt and spring rains. Because of their temporary nature, vernal pools do not contain fish which prey on larval frogs and salamanders. A vernal pool is defined as a contained basin or depression, having no permanently flowing above-ground outlet, holding water for 2-3 months or more, which lacks breeding populations of fish and which supports the breeding of wood frogs or mole (Ambystoma) salamanders, or contains fairy shrimp.
Public Participation Makes a Difference!
In recent years the scientific community has realized that many lay people in our communities are capable, active, and interested in helping scientists with their work. Many institutions are beginning to rely on trained citizen scientists to help them collect data on a host of different issues. Vernal pools, temporary, spring pools, are of critical importance to many animals across New York and need to be protected. The need to know about and conserve vernal pools is an especially appropriate focus for citizen scientists because the locations of these pools are often not well known. Preservation of these sites relies on knowing where they are along with informed, local politicians who understand the importance of vernal pools. Citizen scientists can be an enormous help to locate, document, and educate the public about vernal pools all across New York State for scientific research and conservation. Citizen scientists can and do make a difference!