Ephemeral ponds are so freaking cool!!! It's crazy to think how an entire food chain is built on the premise of Fish vs No Fish.
People don't seem to realize how important salamanders and frogs are. Did you know that the greatest vertebrate biomass in the woods is made up of amphibians???
One of my favorite memories from college is driving up at night to a spot on the mountain which had 5 ephemeral ponds. Twice a year in the fall and the spring are the breeding times of the most common salamander species, on on a warm rainy night. My professor thought this would be the night so he drives us all up there to watch. You cannot even imagine the numbers.
These are spotted salamanders having a massive orgy! Three or four massive clumps of mating salamanders in five tiny ponds! But these guys weren't the only ones having a fun night...
It's hard to visualize the number of these wood frogs because they were more spread out, but there were hundreds. And you simply can't imagine the NOISE these guys made. It was deafening! We practically had to shout to hear each other, it was a cacophony of frog calls from both the wood frogs and the spring peepers who were mostly hiding on the leaf litter.
These are just a few egg masses laid by these frogs. Just imagine how much food for other animals they provide! Leeches, beetles, newts, they form the basis for a whole food chain in the pond!
Just simply incredible to witness.
prguitarman
jacobvanloon
jbbartram-illu
kianamaiart
kaledo-art
ellievsbear
