Watered Down: Exploring Hydroperiod Dynamics and Amphibian Abundance in Vernal Pools at Three Properties in Northwest Pennsylvania

Huang, Joshua

Watered Down: Exploring Hydroperiod Dynamics and Amphibian Abundance in Vernal Pools at Three Properties in Northwest Pennsylvania

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10456/59249

Author(s)

Huang, Joshua

Date Issued

March 1, 2025

Abstract

Woodland amphibians, such as spotted salamanders and wood frogs, reproduce by laying their eggs in temporary bodies of water (i.e. vernal pools) and germinating them. This process, which starts in the early spring, lasts until the end of summer to produce juvenile amphibians. Vernal pools, a habitat devoid of predators, creates ideal breeding grounds for woodland amphibians. However, these vernal pools eventually dry, and if it dries with undeveloped eggs, those potential juvenile amphibians die. Understanding the relationship between the hydroperiod of these pools and where the amphibians decide to reproduce is important. The objectives of this study were to examine the link between the hydroperiod of vernal pools to the breeding effort within those pools. Several pools at three different sites in Northwestern Pennsylvania were surveyed repeatedly from late winter to late summer, taking note of egg masses and the water level of the pool. It was found that amphibians lay their eggs in pools with higher hydroperiod indices exponentially more than pools with lower hydroperiod indices.

Major

Environmental Science and Sustainability

First Reader(s)

Bradshaw-Wilson, Casey R.