Work with local conservation commissions and other interested individuals to identify and document vernal pools in your area.
*Adapted from the Audubon Society of New Hampshire and the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.
Did You Know?
Photo by Tom Lautzenheiser.
A vernal pool is a temporary or semi-permanent body of water, typically filled in the spring by snow melt and spring rain, and holding water for two or three months in the spring and summer.
Vernal pools form in contained basin depressions, meaning that while they may have an inlet, they have no permanent outlet forming a downstream connection to other aquatic systems. They are typically small, rarely exceeding 50 m in width, and are usually shallow. While most are filled with meltwater and spring rains, others may be filled during the fall or with a combination of seasonal surface runoff and intersection with seasonally high groundwater tables. Typical substrates are formed primarily of dense leaf litter. While most vernal pools are found in upland forest, several types have been identified, including floodplain basins, swamp pools and marsh pools.
Periodic drying is a key feature of the ecology of vernal pools. Drying precludes the establishment of permanent fish populations, which would otherwise act as predators on the eggs and larvae of species that live or breed in the pool. While a typical vernal pool is dry during at least part of the year, others may contain some water throughout the year (or for several years), but a combination of shallow water, summer heat, winter freezing, and periodic oxygen depletion prevent the establishment of fish populations.
Diet
Diet: As tadpoles and froglets leopard frogs are herbivorous, feeding mostly on algae and other plant matter in their habitat. As mature frogs, these organisms consume large numbers of insects.
Geographic Range and Habitat
Geographic Range: Leopard frogs are common in North America.
Habitat: Leopard frogs are found in the marshes, meadows, and ponds in the United States and Canada. They often stray far from water.
Natural History
Natural History: Like most frogs, Leopard frogs often remain immobile for long periods of time. Their characteristic croaking is used to establish individual territories and attract females.
Organism Name
Photo by Solon Morse.
Common Name: Northern Leopard Frog
Scientific Name: Rana pipiens
Physical Characteristics
Physical Description: Northern Leopard Frogs are medium-sized. Their background color is green, greenish-brown, or brown. Dark spots on dorsal surface are rounded rather than angular, often outlined in white or yellow, and are scattered in an irregular fashion on the back. Dorsolateral folds are present and unbroken.
Reproduction
Reproduction: Leopard frogs often stray far from water, but they must return to open water to breed. Male leopard frogs identify females by their distinctively plump physique. Males, which are usually smaller in size, use their specialized thumbs to clasp females during mating. Mating occurs in water while the female swims with the male attached to her back. Females stimulate ejaculation in the male by releasing their eggs.
The Northern Leopard frog is a Facultative Species and may be found in vernal pools, but can reproduce in other aquatic habitats where they are available.
Description
The Roger Tory Peterson Institute is a national, non-profit nature education organization with headquarters in Jamestown, New York, birthplace of world renowned artist and naturalist, Roger Tory Peterson (1908-1996). In collaboration with the Center for Applied Technologies in Education, the Roger Tory Peterson Institute has provided these animal profiles to offer a glimpse into the diversity of Vernal Pools in our region.
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