Comparing amphibian habitat quality and functional success among natural, restored, and created vernal pools

Abstract

The fact that several vernal pool restoration and creation attempts in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey have been paired with conservation of natural pools in the same area provided a valuable research opportunity to compare amphibian habitat quality between project sites and natural reference pools. To measure desired outcomes, we used successful reproduction and metamorphosis of two vernal pool indicator species, the wood frog and spotted salamander. Although many previous studies indicate that restored and created pools rarely replace function lost in the destruction of natural pools, success of vernal pool indicator species was not necessarily related to pool type in this study. Results indicate a strong correlation between reproductive success for both species and vernal pool size (i.e. mean depth and volume), regardless of pool type. Although overall survival rates of wood frog larvae were significantly higher in natural pools with hydroperiods between 12 and 35 weeks, wood frogs were also successful in one restored and one created vernal pool. Salamander survival rates were highest in two natural and two created pools, which had in common both greater volumes and higher proportions of forest land cover in the surrounding 1,000 m. The documented success of vernal pool indicator species in two well‐established created pools demonstrates that pool creation can sometimes restore communities and ecological functions lost, especially when nearby natural pools are degraded or destroyed.