Salamander Rain

You may have read about the huge rainstorm that swept up the East Coast this last week, but what you probably didn’t hear was that this wasn’t any ordinary rain. This was "Salamander rain". The rain those thousands of yellow spotted amphibians have been waiting in their tunnels and underground homes for. Now, with the temperatures in the 40’s and rain lubricating the skids of their forest floor, they are free to exit those tunnels and head to the nearest Vernal pool, probably the pool they were born in, for their idea of March Madness!

I was lucky enough to join a research biologist that works with my husband at the military base at Otis and, in the midst of the rainstorm, rumble 20 min in a 4 wheel to reach the vernal pool she is studying. We were attempting to get a view of "congress", the term for the pep rally the male salamanders have prior to wooing the ladies. We won’t even think about why they call it a "congress"!

The males are the first to arrive in the pools, and there they congregate, sometimes by the hundreds, (we saw them more by the dozens). There, they engage in rubbing, wriggling and general salamander hoo-hahing to get them psyched up to woo the ladies. Now, in the salamander world, this is accomplished in a pretty unique way. The males lay a little white packet of their sperm (this is mostly an adult audience isn’t it?) called a spermatophore, in the water close to the edge of the pool.

When the ladies arrive, more dancing, undulating, etc. happens as each male tries to convince her he’s THE one. If she seems interested, he carries her on his snout (Oh, would I love to see that!), does more enticing wiggle moves, and brings her to his personal little packet. If this has won her heart, she then settles over the packet and takes it into her vent and so, in a few days, little Sammy is laid as one of hundreds of sticky eggs, that are attached to branches under the water. Then, when all this rush of romance is over, they all return to their burrows, or logs or well bottoms that they call home. Unless you happen to be out on rainy nights and catch one hunting a slug, or worm or other yummy thing, you won’t see them again until March Madness roles around again. So, of course, my suggestion is that with the next rain that comes in the next few weeks, grab your rain slicker and flashlight and see if you can get a ring side seat for the action. This at least, is one "congress" that gets the job done!

Pat