North Amherst is a census-designated place (CDP) in the city of Amherst in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,819 at the 2010 census, up from 6,019 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.
In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants. More in general, the word can be used for any low-lying and seasonally waterlogged terrain. In Europe and in agricultural literature low-lying meadows that require draining and embanked polderlands are also referred to as marshes or marshland.
The tiger salamander is a species of mole salamander and one of the largest terrestrial salamanders in North America.
The spotted salamander or yellow-spotted salamander is a mole salamander common in eastern United States and Canada. It is the state amphibian of Ohio and South Carolina. The species ranges from Nova Scotia, to Lake Superior, to southern Georgia and Texas. Its embryos have been found to have symbiotic algae living in and around them, the only known example of vertebrate cells hosting an endosymbiont microbe.
The spring peeper is a small chorus frog widespread throughout the eastern United States and Canada. It prefers permanent ponds due to its advantage in avoiding predation; however, it is very adaptable with respect to the habitat it can live in. In northern regions, the frog is able to endure below freezing temperatures due to the capacity of its liver to exude and flush the bloodstream with a glucose cryoprotectant which acts both as an anti-freeze in its blood, and allows organs like the heart to enter into a state of protected dormancy. The peeper earned its name from its chirping call, which marks the beginning of spring. Crucifer is derived from the Latin root meaning "cross-bearing", a reference to the cross-like pattern on the spring peeper's dorsal side.
The California tiger salamander is a vulnerable amphibian native to California. It is a mole salamander. Previously considered to be a subspecies of the tiger salamander, the California tiger salamander was recently designated a separate species again. The California tiger salamander distinct population segment (DPS) in Sonoma County and the Santa Barbara County DPS are listed as federally endangered, while the Central California DPS is listed as federally threatened. The Sonoma County, south San Joaquin, and the Santa Barbara County DPS have diverged from the rest of the California tiger salamander populations for over one million years, since the Pleistocene and they may warrant status as separate species.
Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe development of natal amphibian and insect species unable to withstand competition or predation by fish. Certain tropical fish lineages have however adapted to this habitat specifically.
The Jefferson salamander is a mole salamander native to the northeastern United States, southern and central Ontario, and southwestern Quebec. It was named after Jefferson College in Pennsylvania.
Lithobates sylvaticus or Rana sylvatica, commonly known as the wood frog, is a frog species that has a broad distribution over North America, extending from the boreal forest of the north to the southern Appalachians, with several notable disjunct populations including lowland eastern North Carolina. The wood frog has garnered attention from biologists because of its freeze tolerance, relatively great degree of terrestrialism, interesting habitat associations, and relatively long-range movements.
The blue-spotted salamander is a mole salamander native to the Great Lakes states and northeastern United States, and parts of Ontario and Quebec in Canada. Their range is known to extend to James Bay to the north, and southeastern Manitoba to the west.
The striped newt is a species of aquatic salamander native to the southeastern United States. It is a close relative of the eastern newt, with which it shares territory, and can be distinguished from the latter by the presence of red stripes running down the sides of its back and red spots on its back that lack a black outline.
The plateau tiger salamander or Mexican tiger salamander is a species of mole salamander in the family Ambystomatidae. It is typically considered endemic to Mexico, although its range might extend to the United States. Its natural habitat is grassland, including sparse forest and semiarid grassland. Breeding takes place in a range of aquatic habitats: deep volcanic lakes, shallow vernal pools, artificial cattle ponds, and intermittent, fish-free stream pools. It exhibits facultative paedomorphosis.
The oak toad is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to the coastal regions of southeastern United States. It is regarded as the smallest species of toad in North America, with a length of 19 to 33 mm.
The gopher frog is a species of frog in the family Ranidae, endemic to the south-eastern United States. It primarily inhabits the threatened sandhill communities, flatwoods, and scrub in the Atlantic coastal plain, where it is usually found near ponds.
Lake Lagunita, informally referred to as Lake Lag, is an artificial dry lake in Stanford University, California, located on the western side of the Stanford campus near the Lagunita residences. It was created in c. 1870 to provide irrigation for Palo Alto Stock Farm.
The Merced National Wildlife Refuge encompasses 10,262 acres (41.53 km2) of wetlands, native grasslands, vernal pools, and riparian areas in California. It was established in 1951 under the Lea Act to attract wintering waterfowl from adjacent farmland where their foraging was causing crop damage. In the last few decades, changes in agricultural practices and refuge management have reduced these wildlife/crop issues.
The Henry Street salamander tunnels are two amphibian tunnels in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States, built in 1987 to assist salamander migration between their overwintering grounds and their breeding grounds, an annual courtship event known as the Big Night. Previously, spotted salamanders were often crushed by vehicles as they crossed Henry Street. They winter on its east side and cross westward in the spring to breed in what is known as a salamander congress in the vernal pools that form there.
Amphibian and reptile tunnels, also known as herp tunnels, are a type of wildlife crossing that is positioned beneath a roadway. The tunnels allow amphibians and reptiles to cross roads without the risk of being crushed by a vehicle. They have been used by toads, frogs and salamanders. The tunnels are used to get to their Big Night, a mass courtship ritual which is known as a salamander congress.
Salamander congress, is a salamander mating ritual which occurs in spring on the Big Night. It is a gathering of salamanders in vernal pools for the purpose of breeding. When male and female salamanders meet in the vernal pools it is called a congress.
Mount Cydonia Ponds Natural Area is a 183-acre (74 ha) protected area in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Michaux State Forest.
