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Vernal pools are temporary shallow ponds, usually appearing only in the spring time after snow melt.  They host a special micro-ecosystem important to many species of animals and insects.  However, they have no fish.  

Major Points

• Fairy shrimp and other fun invertebrates live in vernal pools.  Species must be adapted to pools that dry-up by summer time.  Many species of amphibian use these pools, such as frongs, toads, and salamanders.
• Vernal pools do not have fish!
• Lifeforms must be adapted to summer dry-out.   

Many forests contain vernal pools.  They are not just a bunch of spring time mud puddles!  There are tens of thousands of them across the Lake States.  They vary in shape, size, and depth but they all share the qualities of being temporary, have no fish, and host a variety of life adapted to pools that dry-out by high summer.  They also are critical habitat elements for range of woodland species, including some rather peculair things, such as fairy shrimp!  Vernal pools are not equally common across forest types and forest soils.  They are rare on sandy outwash plains (post-glacial formations), because the soils are too well-drained to maintain pools.  On the thin soils over the Canadian Shield (ancient granite bedrock), pools abound.       

BeLeaf It or Not! Video Production The purpose for these videos is to INTRODUCE a few concepts for each episode topic.  They are meant to be light-hearted and entertaining.   Yet, the intention is to have both feet on solid science ground (biological, economic, social, et al.).  We acknowledge that many of the topics are introduced or reinforced in school curricula at the fourth through seventh grades.  So, these students, and their teachers, are the primary target audience.  All of these topics can be more fully explored within the classroom setting or, in some case, be explored IN THE WOODS!  With this in mind, these support pages are embedded into the Michigan Forests Forever website, which already houses a wide range of information about Michigan forests, designed for use by teachers. This entire project cost about $100,000.  No small amount, of course.  The primary authors were Bill Cook, Georgia Peterson, and James Ford.  Additionally, most of the episode scripts were either drafted and/or reviewed by cooperating foresters, biologists, teachers, and other experts.  If you're curious about who helped produced these videos, visit the "credits" page.

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