Last week, UMaine Ph.D. candidate Jared Homola and postdoctoral fellow Dr. Krista Capps visited three vernal pools at the reserve as part of Jared's research into how urbanization affects vernal pools and influences the organisms within them. He is especially interested in how abrupt climate change can impact the persistence of ecologically important species and the genetic basis for the ecosystem services they provide.

The UMaine researchers will also investigate how communities and individual landowners make conservation decisions that influence vernal pool conservation.

The reserve has several vernal pools — small, fishless, freshwater pools that contain a specific community of inhabitants, including wood frogs, salamanders, and fairy shrimp. These habitats are important for maintaining forest biodiversity and providing ecosystem services.

For more information on how to identify vernal pools or the organisms living within them, visit the Maine Vernal Pools website.

Photos

• A vernal pool
• Spotted Salamander egg masses
• Wood Frog eggs