Fauna
Many of the amphibians that breed only in vernal pools spend most of their lives in the uplands within hundreds of feet of the vernal pool. Eggs are laid in the vernal pool, then the juveniles leave the pool two or three months later, not to return until the following spring to breed. Therefore, the upland areas surrounding a vernal pool are critical for the survival of these species. In New York state the endangered tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) is dependent on vernal pools to breed as described above. A few other obligate vernal pool species are the marbled salamander (Ambystoma opacum), Jefferson's salamander (Ambystoma jeffersonianum), the blue-spotted salamander (Ambystoma laterale) and the spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum).
Some other species, notably the fairy shrimp, lay eggs capable of entering a state of cryptobiosis. They hatch when rains replenish the water of the pool.
Read more about this topic: Vernal Pool
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