Things you will need to log this Earthcache:
- GPS
- Camera (optional)
To log your find, please E-mail me via my profile, the answers to the following questions:
- At the posted waypoint, stand with your back to the shoreline and tell me if there is any water in the Vernal pond.
- If there is water estimate the depth.
- If there is no water, describe what the area of the pond looks like. As in, are the any plants growing or is there dried and cracked mud.
- What wildlife is present. Not only what you can see, but can you hear any?
- Not required but always appreciated, post to your on-line log a photo of your GPS. Your face can be included if you so wish.
Definition of Terms
Invertebrates
Animals without backbones.
Macroinvertebrates
Invertebrates that can be seen with the naked eye. Includes insects, crayfish, snails, mussels, clams, fairy shrimp. Aquatic invertebrate organisms large enough to be seen with the naked eye.
Acre
One acre comprises 4,840 square yards or 43,560 square feet.
The Geology
Vernal ponds are small, isolated wetlands that occur in forested settings throughout the world. Vernal ponds experience cyclic periods of water inundation and drying, typically filling with water in the spring or fall and drying during the summer or in drought years. Substrates often consist of mineral soils underlain by an impermeable layer such as clay, and may be covered by a layer of interwoven fibrous roots and dead leaves. Though relatively small, and sometimes overlooked, vernal ponds provide critical habitat for many plants and animals, including rare species and species with specialized adaptations for coping with temporary and variable wet periods. Vernal ponds are also referred to as vernal pools, ephemeral ponds, ephemeral pools, Temporary ponds, and seasonal wetlands.
Vernal ponds can occur throughout the world wherever the ground is concave and liquid water enters faster then it leaves. Typically water enters as runoff from the surrounding higher ground. Water leaves typically by evaporation or by draining through the under lying soil. The term "Vernal Pond" has been widely applied to temporary pools that normally reach maximum water levels in spring. In northeastern North America, vernal ponds and similar interchangeable terms have focused even more narrowly upon pools that are relatively small, are regularly but temporarily flooded, and are within wooded settings
Even though vernal pools are not permanent, they are ideal habitats for diverse organisms. A wide diversity of macro-invertebrates is found in vernal ponds in North America. In addition, many endemic and rare species of Crustaceans are found in California vernal ponds. Vernal pools also serve as ideal breeding habitats for amphibians; frogs and salamanders rely on vernal pools for larvae development and metamorphosis into adulthood.
Vernal pools vary greatly in size. The smallest pools may be only a few square yards in area. In the northeastern U.S. including Michigan, most vernal pools are less than 2.47 acres in size and the vast majority are less than 1 acre in size. The upper size range of vernal pools is limited because they tend to acquire the vegetation of particular natural community types such as wet prairie or southern hardwood swamp as their size increases and therefore are not considered vernal pools by most definitions.
This Vernal pond exist due to the fact that the under lying bedrock is very close to the surface. Water can collect easily but drainage is limited to mostly evaporation.
References used:
- http://web4.msue.msu.edu/mnfi/abstracts/ecology/vernal_pool.pdf
- http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78509/1/Fong_Wai_Khong_2010.pdf
- http://www.vernalpool.org/vernal_1.htm