Check out what type of cool amphibians we have in Ohio that use vernal pools.

1. Vernal Pool Amphibians

2. Frogs and toads
Wood Frogs are obligate vernal pool breeders
Wood Frogs are obligate vernal pool breeders
American Toads, Spring Peepers, Chorus,
American Toads, Spring Peepers, Chorus,
Leopard, and Gray Treefrogs are facultative
Leopard, and Gray Treefrogs are facultative
Have marked fidelity to natal pool
Have marked fidelity to natal pool
Only males vocalize, and only during breeding season
Only males vocalize, and only during breeding season
(both sexes have alarm calls)
(both sexes have alarm calls)

3. Ohio EPA ratings of ecological
sensitivity of vernal pool amphibians
Salamanders Frogs and Toads
•Smallmouth 4 •American Toad 2
•Unisexual hybrids 5 •N. Spring Peeper 3
•Jefferson 6 •Western Chorus Frog 4
•Eastern Newt 6 •Northern Leopard Frog 4
•Spotted 8 •Gray Treefrog 4
•Marbled 8 •Wood Frog 7
•Tiger 9
•Four-toed 10
•Blue-spotted 10

4. Newly-laid egg mass
Wood Frog – Rana sylvatica
Explosive breeders in mid-late March
Females often lay eggs together in “rafts”
Eggs laid at water surface
Ohio’s champion frost-hardy amphibian
Disappearing in Ohio, possibly gone
in far NW part of state
Ohio EPA has repatriation program
Egg hatch
State distribution maps from
ohioamphiobians.com
Wood Frog pair in amplexus
Wood Frog pair in amplexus

5. How many frogs?
Leopard Frog – Rana pipiens
•Only breed in semipermanent pools
•Late April breeding season
Gray Treefrog – Hyla versicolor
•Disappearing in Ohio
•Champion color changer
•Later breeders (mostly May-June)
•Breed in long-lasting pools

6. Spring Peeper – Pseudacris crucifer
Very small (1 inch) but very loud – sound amplified by gular pouch
Live in moist woods and climb a foot or so up into vegetation
Breed from early March to mid-April
Newly-laid eggs
“X” marks the species
attached to stem
Cluster of egg masses
Giving it all he’s got!

7. Western Chorus Frog – Pseudacris triseriata
•About 1-1/4 inch long
•About 1-1/4
•Breeds from early March to mid-April
•Breeds mid-April
•Call sounds like fingers raking a metal comb
•Call
•Call amplified by gular pouch
•Call
adult
Embryos developing in egg mass

8. toads
•To about 3 inches in length
•To about 3 inches in length
•Breeds in April to early May
•Breeds in April to early May
•Utilizes a wide variety of breeding habitats
•Utilizes a wide variety of breeding habitats
•One female can lay 12,000 eggs!
•One female can lay 12,000 eggs!
Egg mass
American Toad –
Bufo (Anaxurus) americanus
Fowler’s Toad –
Bufo (A.) fowleri
Eggs laid in strings

9. Salamanders
General salamander information:
General salamander information:
•Utilize various upland habitats
•Utilize various upland habitats
•Usually temporary visitors to vernal pools
•Usually temporary visitors to vernal pools
•Larvae have external gills and quickly grow legs (front legs first)
•Larvae have external gills and quickly grow legs (front legs first)
•Some use vernal pools for breeding, but can use other habitats
•Some use vernal pools for breeding, but can use other habitats
•Silent breeders; use pheromones to attract females
•Silent breeders; use pheromones to attract females
•Larvae must transform into adults before pool dries
•Larvae must transform into adults before pool dries
•Larvae are top vernal pool predators
•Larvae are top vernal pool predators
•All salamander species are entirely predatory and carnivorous
•All salamander species are entirely predatory and carnivorous
(Insects, worms, spiders, crustaceans, mollusks)
(Insects, worms, spiders, crustaceans, mollusks)
•Preyed on by birds, raccoons, snakes
•Preyed on by birds, raccoons, snakes

10. salamander larvae prey…
paramecia
protists euglena
mosquito larvae
insects
rotifers
ostracods
crustaceans
fairy shrimp
cladocerans
isopods fly
amphipods
copepods
larvae
…and predators
mayfly larvae
water scorpion beetle larvae
dragonfly larva

11. Facultative Species –
Eastern Spotted Newt
Notophthalmus viridescens
•Prefer permanent to semipermanent pools larva
•Breeds in April National distribution maps
from ARMI atlas (USGS)
•Terrestrial eft stage lasts several years Aquatic adult
•Can leave pool during dry periods
•Male has tubercles on legs to grasp female
•Skin is highly toxic
Eft stage
amplexus

12. Four-toed Salamander – Hemidactylium scutatum
Species of special concern in Ohio
Needs undisturbed forests
Mostly found with sphagnum moss;
eggs laid in moss and larvae drop
into water when hatched
2-3 inches long, slender, with shield-type
markings on back and salt-and-pepper belly
Female brooding eggs in sphagnum Sphagnum moss
biology.astate.edu

13. obligate species: Ambystomids (mole salamanders)
Live underground or under cover most of the year
Will emerge on wet nights to forage for food on forest floor
Sustained temperatures above ~75 degrees are fatal
Life span of ~12 (Smallmouth) to ~25 (Tiger) years
Woodland habitat usually moist; Jefferson prefers higher woods
Several species may share the same pond
Eastern Tiger Salamander –
Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum
•Needs mature forests
•Largest of ambystomids – to about 9 inches
fwie.fw.vt.edu
•Largely extirpated from northern Ohio

14. Female vent
Male vent
spermatophores
Animals emerge from underground during warm late winter/early spring rain events
Animals emerge from underground during warm late winter/early spring rain events
Smallmouth emerge first – even in warm January spells, but more usually in early March
Smallmouth emerge first – even in warm January spells, but more usually in early March
Spotteds are latest – often early April
Spotteds are latest – often early April
Migrate up to several hundred yards to ponds; males arrive a few days before females
Migrate up to several hundred yards to ponds; males arrive a few days before females
Males produce a pheromone that excites female breeding response
Males produce a pheromone that excites female breeding response
Vents swell during breeding – the males’ more than the females’
Vents swell during breeding – the males’ more than the females’
Animals pair off at night, the male nudging pheromones into female’s skin with his snout
Animals pair off at night, the male nudging pheromones into female’s skin with his snout
Male deposits up to several dozen spermatophores on pond substrate (leaves, twigs)
Male deposits up to several dozen spermatophores on pond substrate (leaves, twigs)
Fertilization is internal; sperm extremely sensitive to water chemistry
Fertilization is internal; sperm extremely sensitive to water chemistry

15. Spotted Salamander –
Ambystoma maculatum
About 6 inches in length, female > male
April breeding season (but weather dependent)
Egg masses firm, gelatinous, globular, about 4 inches in diameter
Innner translucent egg sac enveloped in clear (sometimes milky) matrix
Masses sometimes greenish (öophilic algus)
Widely distributed throughout Ohio, but becoming less common

16. Marbled Salamander – Ambystoma opacum
Only autumn-breeding ambystomid
Female excavates nest depression in dry pool, then
Broods eggs until rains have substantially filled pool
Larvae hatch in late fall and become predatory on other ambystomid larvae
Female Marbled brooding eggs

17. Blue-spotted Salamander – Ambystoma laterale
•Northern in distribution;Ohio endangered species
•Found in Ohio only in one or a few locations in Toledo area
•Often misidentified with Smallmouth, Jefferson, and sp’s (see below)

18. Smallmouth Salamander – Ambystoma texanum
•Very short snout
•Lower jaw equals or protrudes beyond upper
•Toes relatively short
•Markings climb up onto back
•Lichen-like flecks bluish when young, fading with age
•Earliest breeder of ambystomids
•Egg clusters looser than Spotted, ~several dozen/mass
•Most common ambystomid in our area (but see below)
Greg Lipps

19. Jefferson Salamander – Ambystoma jeffersonianum
Snout larger and toes longer than Smallmouth
Bluish flecking more restricted to sides
Egg cluster loose, ~cylindrical, ~200/mass
Present in NE Ohio, mostly on Allegheny Plateau
Absent on NW Ohio (southerly/Appalachian distribution)
Likes drier woods than other ambystomids

20. Unnamed “sp” – probably
Who the heck am I, anyhow? 2 Smallmouth, 1 Blue-spotted
Unisexual hybrid polyploids
Kellys Island Salamander:
1 tiger, 1 smallmouth,
one Blue-spotted, 1 Jefferson
Tremblay’s Salamander:
1 Blue-spotted, 2 Jefferson
Greg Lipps
Have three or more sets of chromosomes
Populations are all-female
No fertilization of egg by sperm, but
Sperm necessary to initiate mitosis in egg
Egg clusters very small (~2-10 eggs)
Many genetic combinations
Silvery Salamander
Reproduction and science poorly understood
Globally rare but no legal protection; disappearing fast!Blue-spotted, 1 Jefferson
2

21. Comparison of some different eggs Smallmouth
species Eggs/mass Mass shape Mass texture egg size (mm) other
Mass size (cm) inner/outer
Spotted S. 60-200; few masses Globular Thick, firm 2.0 – 2.5/6-7 females deposit masses together in a
clutch
Jefferson S. 8-55; Ave. ~15; Cylindrical Soft 2.0 -2.1/3.5 below water surface
many 2.5 D x 3.5 L (all vernal ambystomids)
masses
Smallmouth 4-6 (-30), but many Irregular, elongate Very loose (like raw 2.0 – 2.1/3.5
masses egg white)
Unisexual hybrids (sp’s) 1 – 8 (-19); variable Irregular Very loose 2.7/5.0
Wood Frog 500-1000 Globular Firm 1.9/6.5 At surface; in
7.5-10.0 cm communal rafts
Spring Peeper ~700 (-1000) elongate, ovate loose 1.1/2/5 5-10 cm below surface attached to
2-5 vegetation
sp
Chorus Frog 30-50 elongate, ovate loose ~1/3.4 5-10 cm below surface attached to
2-5 vegetation or on bottom
Spotted
W. Chorus “raft” of Wood
Wood Frog
Frog eggs
embryo
S. Peeper
inner jelly
“clutch” of Spotted eggs
Jefferson

22. For more information: Visit www.ohioamphibians.com
www.fowl.org
Thanks to Greg Lipps for permission to use his photos
Thanks to Greg Lipps for permission to use his photos

23. Happy
Monitoring!