Vernal Pools for Me – Week 3 – Migration
A Web Comic – by Laura Bollert with Kris Hoffmann
Blue-Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma laterale), Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum), and Wood Frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) make long migrations from their winter burrows to vernal pools on Big Night, which is the first warm rainy night of the spring. Based on various studies, Spotted Salamanders live an average of about 300 ft from their vernal pool, Jefferson an average of about 400 ft, Blue-Spotted Salamanders an average of about 200 feet away, and Wood Frogs live an average of 400 feet away. Crossing roads can be very dangerous for the animals, but some helpful people have organized “Bucket Brigades” or closed roads to keep animals from getting squashed.
To learn about some of these helpful people, Click Here. The above distances are based on research by Dr. Steve Faccio, Dr. Kevin Ryan, Dr. Aram Calhoun, Dr. Tracy Rittenhouse, and Dr. Raymond Semlitsch.
Our work is supported by: