Amphibian Larvae of Massachusetts

1. Amphibian Larvae of Massachusetts By Amir and Lara

2. Introduction • Out of the numerous variables that amphibian larvae rely on in order to survive, the data collected for this project was recorded from five of them: canopy closure, vernal pool water temperature, depth of pool, vegetative communities, and predators

3. **Sunshine!** • Measurement of sunlight (shaded, partially shaded, not shaded) coupled with data such as larvae abundance in differently shaded areas help determine the significance of sunlight • The role that abiotic factors, such as sunlight, play on biotic factors, such as predation, is one of the main reasons for conducting this research • Canopy closure recorded to determine whether amphibians live in well sunlit areas because of phytoplankton abundance, canopy closure is recorded to determine whether the temperature of the vernal pool itself attracts amphibians

4. Introduction (cont.) • Recording vegetative community data coupled with populations captured will help determine whether there is a necessity for different vegetative communities • Once predators are captured, their natural history (hunting preferences, diet preferences, water type, vegetative preference, etc) will help determine amphibian larvae behavior

5. Methods • In order to record data about five variables, the following steps were taken: • Canopy closure was determined by visual judgment (shaded, partially shaded, or sunny) • Temperature was recorded with a thermometer (degrees Celsius) • Vegetative communities were recorded visually (shrub, grass, or tree) • Water depth (feet and inches) was recorded with a tape measurer

6. Methods (cont.) • Vernal pool GS1 is shaped like a figure-8 • Five traps were set in smaller half of vernal pool, titled Part One: alpha, beta, kappa, sigma, and zeta • Seven traps were set in other half of GS1 pool, titled Part Two: A, B, C, D, E, F, G • Data was recorded for each trap on 3 different days in a span of 4 days

7. Results • Total number of amphibian larvae collected: 2 • 1 wood frog tadpole in trap set in water that was 10 degrees Celsius • 1 wood frog tadpole in trap set in water that was 13 degrees Celsius

8. PROBLEMS • Problem occurred when recording vegetative types → classification of grassy area, shrubby area, or trees resulted in mostly neither of the three, therefore references to vegetative community preference is inconclusive • We only caught two tadpoles…

9. PROBLEMS (cont.) • Most likely reasons for lack of amphibian larvae are: • Too cold water temperature • Predators • Lack of vegetative communities, meaning less camouflage and protection for larvae • Span of days for when data was recorded was too short

10. Ways to Improve Experiment • Collect data over longer span of days • Select a vernal pool with less canopy closure (lack of sunlight could have resulted in lower water temperatures) • Record data from more than one vernal pool