Abstract
Woodland vernal pools occur commonly throughout northeastern North America. These pools provide preferred breeding habitat for mole salamanders (Ambystoma spp.) and wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) and support an abundant and diverse macroinvertebrate fauna. Vernal pool hydrology, and especially hydroperiod or duration of the wet phase, affects the composition and productivity of pool fauna. The hydrology of ephemeral wetlands is dominated by local weather conditions. In this paper, I report a ten-year record of the relationships between precipitation and evapotranspiration and water-level change and hydroperiod in four typical southern New England vernal pools. Long-term average precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year in the Northeast; potential evapotranspiration peaks in the summer months and exceeds precipitation from mid-June through mid-September. This period of water deficit causes the period of maximum vernal pool drying. Vernal pool hydroperiods were shorter and pools dried earlier in those years with larger cumulative water deficits, especially when early spring ground-water resources were below long-term means and late winter snowpack was reduced or absent. Weekly water-level change in vernal pools was significantly related to precipitation and potential evapotranspiration, with precipitation having 2–5 times greater effect than evapotranspiration. Under elimate-change predictions of more episodic precipitation and increased evapotranspiration, vernal pools would dry earlier in the year and remain dry longer. These changes would adversely affect the successful reproduction of pool-breeding amphibians and isolate the remaining productive pools.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Brooks, R. T. 2000. Annual and seasonal variation and the effects of hydroperiod on benthic macroinvertebrates of seasonal forest (“vernal”) ponds in central Massachusetts. Wetlands 20:707–715.
Brooks, R. T. and K. L. Doyle. 2001. Shrew species richness and abundance in relation to vernal pond habitat in southern New England. Northeastern Naturalist 8:137–148.
Brooks, R. T. and M. Hayashi. 2002. Depth-area-volume and hydroperiod relationships of ephemeral (“vernal”) forest pools in southern New England. Wetlands 22:247–255.
Brooks, R. T., J. Stone, and P. Lyons. 1998. An inventory of seasonal forest ponds on the Quabbin Reservoir watershed, Massachusetts. Northeastern Naturalist 5:219–230.
Burne, M. R. 2001. Massachusetts Aerial Photo Survey of Potential Vernal Pools. Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Westborough, MA, USA.
Church, M. R., G. D. Bishop, and D. L. Cassell. 1995. Maps of regional evapotranspiration and runoff/precipitation ratios in the northeast United States. Journal of Hydrology 168:283–298.
Damon, R. A., Jr., and W. R. Harvey. 1987. Experimental design, ANOVA, and regression. Harper and Row, Publishers, New York, NY, USA.
DeGraaf, R. M. and M. Yamasaki. 2001. New England Wildlife: Habitat, Natural History, and Distribution. University of Press of New England, Hanover, NH, USA.
Donnelly, M. A. and M. L. Crump. 1998. Potential effects of climate change on two neotropical amphibian assemblages. Climatic Change 39:541–561.
Dunne, T. and L. B. Leopold. 1978. Water in Environmental Planning. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York, NY, USA.
Gay, D. E. 1998. A comparison of the hydrology and aqueous geochemistry of temporary ponds on the Prescott Peninsula of the Quabbin Reservoir watershed in central Massachusetts. M.S. Thesis. Department of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA.
Gibbs, J. P. 1993. Importance of small wetlands for the persistence of local populations of wetland-associated animals. Wetlands 13: 25–31.
Hammer, D. E. and R. H. Kadlec. 1986. A model for wetland surface water dynamics. Water Resources Research 22:1951–1958.
Hayashi, M. and D. Rosenberry. 2001. Effects of groundwater exchange on the hydrology and ecology of surface waters. Journal of Groundwater Hydrology 43:327–341.
Hayashi, M., G. van der Kamp, and D. L. Rudolph. 1998. Water and solute transfer between a prairie wetland and adjacent uplands, 1. water balance. Journal of Hydrology 207:42–55.
Hobbins, M. T., J. A. Ramirez, and T. C. Brown. 2001. Trends in regional evapotranspiration across the United States under the complementary relationship hypothesis. p. 106–121. In J. A. Ramirez (ed.) Proceedings of the 21st Annual AGU Hydrology Days. Colorado State Unversity, Ft. Collins, CO, USA
Jackson, M. E., D. E. Scott, and R. A. Estes. 1989. Determinants of nest success in the marbled salamander (Ambystoma opacum). Canadian Journal of Zoology 67:2277–2281.
Joyal, L. A., M. McCollough, and M. L. Hunter, Jr. 2000. Landscape ecology approaches to wetland species conservation: a case study of two turtle species in southern Maine. Conservation Biology 15: 1755–1762.
Karl, T. R., R. W. Knight, D. R. Easterling, and R. G. Quayle. 1995. Trends in U. S. climate during the twentieth century. Consequences 1:3–12.
Kenk, R. 1949. The Animal Life of Temporary and Permanent Ponds in Southern Michigan. University of Michigan, Museum of Zoology. Ann Arbor, MI, USA. Mise. Publ. No. 71.
Kennamer, R. A. 2001. Relating climatological patterns to wetland conditions and wood duck production in the Southeastern Atlantic Coastal Plain. Wildlife Society Bulletin 29:1193–1205.
Kirkman, L. P., S. W. Golladay, L. Laclaire, and R. Sutter. 1999. Biodiversity in southeastern seasonally ponded, isolated wetlands: management and policy perspectives for research and conservation. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 18:553–562.
Kletti, L. L. and H. G. Stefan. 1997. Correlations of climate and streamflow in three Minnesota streams. Climatic Change 37:575–600.
Larson, D. L. 1995. Effects of climate on numbers of northern prairie wetlands. Climatic Change 30:169–180.
Leavesley, G. H. 1994. Modeling the effects of climate change on water resources—a review. Climatic Change 28:159–177.
Lent, R. M., P. K. Weiskel, F. P. Lyford, and D. S. Armstrong. 1997. Hydrologic indices for nontidal wetlands. Wetlands 17:19–30.
Lide, R. F., V. G. Meentemeyer, J. E. Pinder, III, and L. M. Beatty. 1995. Hydrology of a Carolina bay located on the upper coastal plain of western South Carolina. Wetlands 15:47–57.
Lott, R. B. and R. J. Hunt. 2001. Estimating evapotranspiration in natural and constructed wetlands. Wetlands 21:614–628.
Mansell, R. S., S. A. Bloom, and G. Sun. 2000. A model for wetland hydrology: description and validation. Soil Science 1656:384–397.
Marsh, D. M. 2001. Fluctuations in amphibian populations: a metaanalysis. Biological Conservation 101:327–335.
McCarthy, J. J., O. E. Osvaldo, N. A. Leary, D. J. Dokken, and K. S. White. 2001. Climate change 2001: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, UK.
McDonald, K. A. and J. H. Brown. 1992. Using montane mammals to model extinctions due to global change. Conservation Biology 6:409–415.
Milam, J. C. and S. M. Melvin. 2001. Density, habitat use, movements, and conservation of spotted turtles (Clemmys guttata) in Massachusetts. Journal of Herpetology 35:418–427.
Moore, M. V., M. L. Pace, J. R. Mather, P. S. Murdoch, R. W. Howarth, C. L. Folt, C. Y. Chen, H. F. Hemond, P. A. Flebbe, and C. T. Driscoll. 1997. Potential effects of climate change on freshwater ecosystems of the New England/Mid-Atlantic region. Hydrological Processes 11:925–947.
Mortsch, L. D. 1998. Assessing the impact of climate change on the Great Lakes shoreline wetlands. Climatic Change 40:391–416.
New England Regional Assessment Group. 2001. Preparing for a changing climate: the potential consequences of climate variability and change. New England regional overview. U. S. Global Change Research Program, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA.
Palik, B., D. P. Batzer, R. Buech, D. Nichols, K. Cease, L. Egeland. and D. E. Streblow. 2001. Seasonal pond characteristics across a chronosequence of adjacent forest ages in northern Minnesota, USA. Wetlands 21:532–542.
Poiani, K. A. and W. C. Johnson. 1991. Global warming and prairie wetlands. BioScience 41:611–618
Poiani, K. A. and W. C. Johnson. 1991. Global warming and prairie wetlands, BioScience 41:611–618.
Poiani, K. A. and W. C. Johnson. 1993a. A spatial simulation model of hydrology and vegetation dynamics in semi-permanent prairie wetlands. Ecological Applications 3:279–293.
Poiani, K. A. and W. C. Johnson. 1993b. Potential effects of climate change on a semi-permanent prairie wetland. Climatic Change 24:213–232.
Poiani, K. A., W. C. Johnson, G. A. Swanson, and T. C. Winter. 1996. Climate change and northern prairie wetlands: simulations of long-term dynamics. Limnology and Oceanography 41:871–881.
Root, T. L. and S. H. Schneider. 2002. Climate change: overview and implications for wildlife. p. 1–56. In S. H. Schneider and T. L. Root (eds.) Wildlife Responses to Climate Change: North American Case Studies Island Press, Washington, DC, USA.
Schneider D. W. 1999 Showmelt ponds in Wisconsin: influence of hydroperiod on invertebrate community structure. p. 299–318. In D. P. Batzer, R. B. Rader, and S. A. Wissinger (eds.) Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands of North America: Ecology and Management. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, USA.
Semlitsch, R. D. and J. R. Bodie. 1998. Are small, isolated wetlands expendable. Conservation Biology 12:1129–1133.
Semlitsch, R. D., D. E. Scott, and J. H. K. Pechmann. 1988. Time and size at metamorphosis related to adult fitness in Ambystoma talpoideun Ecology 69:184–192.
Semlitsch, R. D., D. E. Scott, J. H. K. Pechmann, and J. W. Gibbons. 1996. Structural dynamics of an amphibian community. p. 217–248. In M. L. Cody and J. A. Smallwood (eds.) Long-term Studies of Vertebrate Communities. Academic Press, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA.
Sjogren, P. 1991. Extinction and isolation gradients in metapopulations: the case of the pool frog (Rana lessonae) Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 42:135–147.
Sokal, R. R. and F. J. Rohlf. 1995. Biometry: the Principles and Practice of Statistics in Biological Research, 3rd Edition. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York, NY, USA.
Sun, G., H. Riekerk, and N. B. Comerford. 1998a. Modeling the forest hydrology of wetland-upland ecosystems in Florida. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 34:827–841.
Sun, G., H. Riekerk, and N. B. Comerford. 1998b. Modeling the hydrologic impacts of forest harvesting on Florida flatwoods. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 34:843–854.
Tiner, R. W., H. C. Bergquist, G. P. DeAlessio, and M. J. Starr. 2002. Geographically isolated wetlands: a preliminary assessment of their characteristics and status in selected areas of the United States. U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. Northeast Region, Hadley, MA, USA. (http://wetlands.fws.gov/ Pubs_reports/isolated/report.htm).
van der Kamp, G. and M. Hayashi. 1998. The groundwater recharge function of small wetlands I the semi-arid northern prairies. Great Plains Research 8:39–56.
Wiggins, G. B., R. J. Mackay, and I. M. Smith. 1980. Evolutionary and ecological strategies of animals in annual temporary pools. Archiv fur Hydrobiologie, Supplement 58:7–206.
Winter, T. C., D. O. Rosenberry, D. C. Buso, and D. A. Merk. 2001. Water source to four U.S. wetlands: implications for wetland management. Wetlands 21:462–473.
Yin, Z. and G. A. Brook. 1992. Evapotranspiration in the Okefenokee Swamp watershed: a comparison of temperature-based and water balance methods. Journal of Hydrology 131:293–312.
Zar, J. H. 1974. Biostatistical Analysis. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Brooks, R.T. Weather-related effects on woodland vernal pool hydrology and hydroperiod. Wetlands 24, 104–114 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2004)024[0104:WEOWVP]2.0.CO;2
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2004)024[0104:WEOWVP]2.0.CO;2