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Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
AWC Vernal Pools lecture 1
David Frings looks for salamander eggs in a vernal pool at Oak Mountain State Park.
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Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
AWC Vernal Pools lecture 2
Audubon lecture attendees look at a salamander egg sac found in a vernal pool.
A mud puddle on a hiking trail may seem like nothing more than an inconvenience, but it can actually be a tiny ecosystem for amphibious and aquatic species. These seasonal puddles and ponds, called vernal pools, were the subject of the Alabama Wildlife Center’s latest Audubon lecture.
The Audubon Teaches Nature lecture series is held from October to May and features monthly seminars on Alabama’s native plants and animals. David Frings, the director of the Oak Mountain Interpretive Center and a professor at Samford University, led the Feb. 9 lecture on vernal pools.
Frings has studied the pools in Oak Mountain since 2010. His hour-long lecture included information on how the pools form and dry up between December and May, as well as the species of salamanders, shrimps, frogs and toads that live or lay eggs in them. People often don’t see these animals because they are reclusive or become dormant when the pools disappear, he said.
Frings also emphasized the fragility of vernal pool ecosystems. Since they are dependent on rain levels, these pools can sometimes dry up before eggs hatch or young salamanders and tadpoles have time to develop. Construction and excessive foot and bike traffic can also disrupt the lives of animals in the pools, sometimes permanently.
“This is a sensitive area. I would recommend protecting this and not ever building anything or putting trails in this area,” Frings said of the land around the pools. “I see it as a very delicate area, and we could love it to death.”
Each Audubon lecture ends with a nature walk. Frings and his audience took a field trip to two main vernal pools in the park and had the chance to see a salamander egg sac.
The monthly Audubon lecture is free, though entrance into Oak Mountain State Park is $3 per person. The next lecture is Sunday, March 9, at 2 p.m., and the guest speakers, Samford biologists Larry Davenport and Mike Howell, will teach attendees how to identify spring wildflowers. For more information, visit awrc.org.
