Midnight snorkelers capture incredible salamander migration
Every spring, yellow-spotted salamanders migrate to vernal ponds to breed. The result is a frenzy of activity that lasts only 2-3 nights each year. It is a spectacle to behold. The salamanders make their long journey from the surrounding forest under the cover of darkness, usually after a rainfall. The males arrive at the pond first, depositing spermatophores on the leaves and branches in shallow water. The females come soon after, gathering up the spermatophores to fertilize the eggs that they are waiting to deposit.
Soon after the eggs are fertilized, the female will attach herself to a submerged plant stem or twig and she will release the eggs. The eggs are protected by a sticky, gelatinous mass that deters predators as the eggs develop for approximately 30 days. The eggs hatch into tadpoles, similar to frogs and toads. They spend their first few months in the water, breathing through gills.
Salamanders are amphibians. Once they leave the water, they spend most of their lives underground, occasionally coming out of their burrows to feed and also for breeding season in March to May each year. They are rarely seen, although they are plentiful in the forests that they inhabit.
Salamanders excrete a toxic, milky fluid when they are threatened. Salamanders are a major food source for birds, raccoons, foxes and other animals.
Salamanders feed on earthworms, spiders, slugs, snails, and other insects. They have the amazing ability to grow a new tail and new limbs if one is severed.
A salamander has the unique ability to lay two different types of egg masses. One type has a water-soluble, protein-based gel. The other type has a hydrophobic protein-based gel. This is believed to prevent predation by wood frogs. These eggs are combined with an algae that produces oxygen and removes carbon dioxide and nitrogen waste from developing embryos.
The complex relationships between organisms are only beginning to be understood. The health of our forests and our ecosystems depends on the survival of all species, no matter how small.
-
2:02
WildCreatures
17 days ago $1.00 earnedWitness the mystical underwater world in the Maldives
3.96K5 -
1:19:51
Russell Brand
5 hours agoFarmers Under ATTACK From Globalists! + YOU Are Eating “Bioengineered FOOD!” - Stay Free #356
186 -
1:58:15
Spittin' Chiclets
3 hours agoSpittin' Chiclets Episode 496
1 -
LIVE
The Charlie Kirk Show
2 hours agoHell No To Gaza Refugees + Biden's Border Fraud + Weed Whacker | Sen. Scott, Ramaswamy, Berenson
7,886 watching -
LIVE
IrishBreakdown
2 hours agoNotre Dame Rundown: Defense Should Keep Rolling, Portal Thoughts, Buy/Sell/Hold
138 watching -
5:02
Bearing
1 hour ago'NO MORE MEMES' Aussie Prime Minister Bans Memes of Himself
8 -
1:00:48
The Dan Bongino Show
5 hours agoChaos Erupts As Biden Sits On His Ass (Ep. 2241) - 05/01/2024
1.78K -
1:33:12
Benny Johnson
4 hours ago🚨BOMBSHELL: Biden Had PALLETS Of Classified Docs SENT To Mar-A-Lago Before FBI Raid! Trump Was SETUP
149 -
1:21:06
jeffahern
4 hours agoNever Woke Wednesday's with Jeff Ahern (9am Pacific)
3 -
LIVE
Midnight's Edge
3 hours agoMarvel’s X-Men to be women, Chris Hemsworth regrets Thor Love & Thunder | MEiTM #555
184 watching