NATURE / OUTDOORS
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Today's
Fieldwork
Little Patuxent River
Crofton, MD
3/26/08 Mark Burchick
TODAY'S FIELDWORK - Part
2
- from Mark Burchick
Vernal or seasonal pools
have four distinguishing features:
surficial hydrologic isolation,
periodic drying, small size and
shallow depth and distinctive biological
community.
Seasonal pools reach their maximum
depth and size in the early spring, at
the very end of the
non-growing season and before trees
crank-down the groundwater table via
evapotranspiration.
Rebel, my trusty Bernese Mountain Dog
and eager field companion, cools off in
the blackened leaves of the wetland.
The adult, aquatic phase of the
red-spotted newt (Notophtalmus
viridescens). This species of
newt/salamander has a complex life
cycle. Reference the following YouTube
clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBTNw5qrUFo.
We
suspect that the three, black tadpoles
are marbled salamanders that are autumn
breeders. The appendages behind
the neck are the temporary gills, prior
to the later development of lungs and
terrestrial life on land. My first
thought when I first saw the red-spotted
newt was that it would make great fish
bait for largemouth bass. But as a
read about this species, they are toxic
to fish (noted by the red color phases)
and one of a few species that can
survive in ponds that contain fisheries.
It became obvious to me however, that
the olive-green, green pumpkin and/or
watermelon color of plastic bass baits
are the most common amphibian color
found in nature.
Red-spotted
newts can live
12 to 15-years
and love to eat
mosquito larvae.
Spring beauty
backed by
emerging
Virginia
bluebells.
Bluebell carpets
the Little Patuxent floodplain and
should be a peak flower within the next
two weeks. I noted lots of golden
ragwort just breaking ground, so in
about three to four weeks we should see
tall, beautiful yellow flowers.
Red maple at
peak bloom.
We mapped
and
classified
all of the
wetlands,
documenting
field
indicators
of the
active
floodplain,
terraces,
spring and
bench seeps,
skunk
cabbage
plains and
most
importantly,
quality
vernal pools
that will be
filling with
egg masses
through the
course of
the next few
weeks of 'herp'
(herpetological)
migration
and
breeding.
