a new technique for vernal pool malacology

[Fred Schueler]

Everyone,

We have a number of vernal water bodies where we see snails in some
years, but not in others. One of these is the "Pentecostal Culvert" in
the ditch across from the church of the same denotation. This is also,
in some years, a frog hibernaculum, and I've dug a hole there to
concentrate the frogs (and improve their chances of survival).

Between snowmobiles and the Counties' mowing tractors the hole there was
obliterated, and today I dug 15 cm down in the hard dry ground to
bedrock to recreate the hole, and removed the soil to use it for
plopping on the Squash vines to promote their root growth. As I washed
the soil with a hose, dead plant material floated to the surface, and
there were a lot of little snail shells among them.

Most of these are of the species complex called Stagnicola elodes, and
the interesting thing is that most of the shells are tiny juveniles, as
if there's lots of mortality when the ditch dries up. I've put about
half of the soil in a bin with water, to see if living snails show up
when the water clears.

It's going to be exciting to scamper around to all the vernal pools and
frog hibernaculum holes that we track, and see what snails float up from
bottom samples.

fred.
------------------------------------------------------------
Frederick W. Schueler & Aleta Karstad
Fragile Inheritance Natural History - https://fragileinheritance.ca/
2024 annual letter: https://clt1233162.bmeurl.co/11E63979
6 St-Lawrence Street Bishops Mills, RR#2 Oxford Station, Ontario K0G 1T0
on the Smiths Falls Limestone Plain 44.87156° N 75.70095° W
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[rmb...@istar.ca]

Wish I'd seen this about 3 days ago before I went on Trek of
Frustration to the vernal pool on the "east side". There were quite a
few little shells of pea clams on the black leaves.

On Friday I'm planning to visit the "bog pond" behind the frog pond,
I'll try to take a bucket with me to check out where are undoubtedly
dried out areas. The frog pond had only a couple puddles of water
left, much of the area was dried out, I'll also have to check there.

I've often wanted to pull some of that black muck from the frog pond
to pour onto my vegetable gardens, but was always worried that some
critters would be hiding in there and would be killed in the process.

Rose-Marie

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