During the next couple of weeks, little pools of water in forested areas will be alive with the sounds of frogs. They’re gathering places for all kinds of critters who need these temporary shallow ...

On a chilly March morning a few days before the vernal equinox, an ensemble of spring peepers sang their steady high-pitched song from a shallow rain-fed pond in Middle Island. Wood frogs added their ...

Around these parts, they’re called wicked big puddles. Don’t let the name fool you, though. While vernal pools are really fun to explore, and you can see things there that you won’t find anywhere else ...

Zak Mertz holds a spring peeper frog, moments before setting it free next to a vernal pool in Weymouth, Mass. Inside the New England Wildlife Center in Weymouth, Zak Mertz pointed to what he called a ...

It's Newt Night. Frog Fest. Salamanderpalooza. The temperature is brushing up against 50 where I live, and it's been drizzling for a couple of days. And so, the amphibians, the goggle-eyed, slightly ...

During a recent lecture on evolution, I had to explain the differences between three different processes known as geographic, temporal and behavioral isolation. Geographic isolation is the easiest of ...

Puddle or vernal pool? Take a closer look to find out. Vernal pools, Michigan’s fantastical temporary wetlands, are teeming with life. They’ve earned the nickname, “powerhouse puddles” from the state ...

BRIDPORT — On the hunt for a set of GPS coordinates, biologists from the Vermont Center for Ecostudies ambled up an untrailed slope of Addison County’s Snake Mountain in late April. After climbing ...

HAVERHILL — It is unlikely that anyone would want to barbecue fairy shrimp. But if you were a young salamander or a duck, these tiny creatures might be a good snack. Fairy shrimp, which are delicate, ...