Editing Vernal pool (section)

==Fauna==
[[File:NRCSCA01049 - California (715)(NRCS Photo Gallery).jpg|upright|thumb|Vernal pool in northern California]]
Many amphibians that breed only in vernal pools spend most of their lives in the uplands within hundreds of feet of the vernal pool. Eggs are laid in the vernal pool, then the juveniles leave the pool two or three months later, not to return until the following spring to breed. Therefore, the upland areas surrounding a vernal pool are critical for the survival of these species. In California and New York state, the endangered [[tiger salamander]] (''[[Ambystoma tigrinum]]'') is dependent on vernal pools to breed as described above. A few other obligate vernal pool species are the [[marbled salamander]] (''[[Ambystoma opacum]]''), [[Jefferson's salamander]] (''[[Ambystoma jeffersonianum]]''), the [[blue-spotted salamander]] (''[[Ambystoma laterale]]'') and the [[spotted salamander]] (''[[Ambystoma maculatum]]'').{{Cn|date=May 2021}}

Some other species, notably Anostraca, fairy shrimp, and their relatives, lay eggs capable of entering a state of [[cryptobiosis]]. They hatch when rains replenish the water of the pool, and no stage of the animals' life cycle leaves the pool, except when eggs are accidentally transported by animal [[phoresis (biology)|phoresis]], wind, or rarely, by flood. Such animal populations can be ancient when the conditions for seasonal vernal waters are stable enough. As an extreme example, ''Branchipodopsis relictus'' on the main island of the [[Socotra archipelago]], which is exceedingly remote for what it is, a continental fragment of Gondwana, is believed to have been isolated since the [[Miocene]]. ''Branchipodopsis relictus'' is correspondingly isolated genetically as well as geographically.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Van Damme|first1=Kay|last2=Dumont|first2=Henri J.|last3=Weekers|first3=Peter H. H.|title=Anostraca (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) from Socotra Island: A new Branchipodopsis and its relationship with its African and Asian congeners|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272088008|journal=Fauna of Arabia|date=May 9, 2004|volume=20|pages=193–209}}</ref>

In California, the [[conservancy fairy shrimp]] has been classified as an [[endangered species]] under the [[Endangered_Species_Act_of_1973#Listing_status|provisions of the Endangered Species Act of 1973]].

Vernal pools can serve as a temporary habitat for migrating birds, especially in California. The rich invertebrate population in these pools provides food for ducks, herons, egrets, plovers, and many other species.<ref>Silveira, Joseph G. "Avian uses of vernal pools and implications for conservation practice." In ''Ecology, Conservation and Management of Vernal Pool Ecosystems. Proceedings from a 1996 Conference. Sacramento, CA: California Native Plant Society''. pp.92-94. 1998.</ref>