Manassas National Battlefield Park - Amphibians

Manassas National Battlefield Park by National Parks Service

Vernal pools, also known as ephemeral wetlands, prairie potholes, whale wallows, sinks, and kettles are rain-filled depression that amphibians use for breeding and laying egg masses. These pools can be as small as a puddle. They fill with water in the spring an are usually dried up by June or July. The reason some amphibians use these significant areas for breeding and laying egg masses is simple: they lack predators (fish) that eat their larvae.

A wonderful spot to view a large vernal pool in the Park is along both sides of the boardwalk trail heading west from Stone Bridge which is on route 29 (Lee Hwy.). With abundant winter melt and/or spring rains, this area becomes inundated with several inches of water converting a once parched ground into a piedmont swamp forest community with tannic waters from mature Pin Oaks. In early spring, you will hear the high chirping chorus of Spring Peepers and the quacking duck call of the Wood Frog. These calls are meant to attract females to breed. Vernal pools are also a significant habitat for Spotted and Marbled Salamanders found in this area.

MORE ABOUT AMPHIBIANS:

Amphibian comes from the Greek words "ambi" meaning dual and "bios" meaning life. Amphibians lead a dual life in that most spend some of their early life in water and metamorphose into an adult form for life on land. Amphibians are the most diverse group of terrestrial vertebrates because they occupy every continent except Antarctica. Class Amphibia has over 4,800 species. They include frogs (toads and tree frogs), salamanders (including newts), and caecilians (which live in the tropics). Fossil evidence indicates this branch of vertebrates has been around for 350 million years since the Devonian Era. They are cold-blooded creatures and are adapted to live in wetlands, forests, deserts, savannas, tree canopies, rain forests, and underground.

Amphibians provide many benefits for the environment and humans in that they:

-- consume large quantities of insects which controls some diseases in humans -- provide protein food for other predators and humans in developing countries -- have aesthetic appeal and provide inspiration for folklore, religions, spirituality and the arts -- are used for research and to develop painkillers and antibiotics -- are used as indicators for environmental quality in biomonitoring studies

Amphibians transport water and air primarily through their porous skin. This is the reason amphibians are used in biomonitoring studies. Whatever toxins are placed in our freshwater systems affect amphibians health and their population dynamics.

It might be easier to imagine that the air we breathe is flooded with a gas that is slightly toxic to us. Breathing this air would put our health at risk and our bodies would be put under a considerable amount of stress. With this increased stress comes an increased chance of succumbing to a disease. The same thing is happening to amphibians. Biocides (mimic/interfere with hormones), leached heavy metals, petroleum products, aerial spraying, increased UV-B radiation and acid rain are all having a harmful affect on the worldwide amphibian population. Some rapid population declines and extirpations have even occurred in protected parks and wilderness areas.