A Lesson on Vernal Pools

Science lesson for today. Vernal pools are pools of water that fill in early spring and dry up in mid to late summer. They are teaming with aquatic animals both easy to see and not so easy to see. They are unique because they don't contain fish. They are home to salamanders, frogs and invertebrates. You saw chorus frogs and wood frogs earlier this week. Here are photos of the smaller organisms that require are closer look. In the photo of the leach the tiny things floating around in the water are seed clams. There is also a close up of a seed clam that is greatly magnified, 2 snails, and a fingernail clam. There are also two case maker caddisflys that construct their home, that they carry on their backs, out of leaf litter, sticks, bits of grass in and some cases tiny pebbles. Look close at the photo of the prickly caddisfly and you will see his head sticking out and another caddisfly looking at him from a totally different type of home.Photos by Andrew.

 Leech with pea clams around it

Snail

Seed Clam

Pea Clam

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 Snail

Leech

Two different caddisflies

Visiting the Vernal Pool

It was more like spring outside today than winter.  That is suppose to change tomorrow. In the mean time we made the best of the pleasant weather and took a trip to a nearby vernal pool to search for caddisfly cases to photograph for a magazine article we are writing for spring publication.  We found them and some fingernail clams; everything else was hiding under the leaf litter waiting for spring. While the water was ice cold we were not cold until the very end when our toes started feeling like they were frozen and when we took our waders off..brrr. The ice was about an inch thick in the middle of the pool.

caddisfly case=little bits of sticks and gravel that are "glued" together to form a home for a small aquatic insect larva.

 Leaves under the ice

 Fingernail clam