February Message: SciFest at Hemlock Bluffs

Wetland monitoring is important not only for the data we collect, but also to provide hands on education about why wetlands matter. Wetlands can provide so many benefits to humans and the environment, including creating habitat , flood reduction , filtering out pollution , settling sediment, storing carbon, recharging aquifers that we rely on for drinking water, and providing recreation opportunities for humans ! While not every wetland provides all of these services, this March we experienced many of these benefits during our monitoring visits. Habitat Wetlands provide important habitat for many species. This spring we conducted amphibian surveys at each of our sites and saw lots of amphibians! Wetlands are very important for the lifecycles of many amphibians who live in them, rely on them for food and habitat, or use them as nurseries to lay their eggs and protect their young. Unlike lakes and streams, ephemeral wetlands are not wet year-round. The periodic drying of surface water in these wetlands prevents them from being habitat for fish which may eat young salamanders. Our spring wetlands made a great nursery for amphibians and provide habitat for adults as well. We saw: mating American toads spotted salamander egg masses larval marbled salamanders northern cricket frogs a southern leopard frog upland chorus frogs northern dusky salamanders southern two-lined salamanders There were also several frogs that we couldn’t catch a picture of fast enough to identify. You can view our observations on our iNaturalist page .