Wetlands Monitoring Update - June 2023:
West Brohm Creek and Britannia Slough
The Squamish River Watershed Society is partaking in a wetlands monitoring program in the Squamish Area. Our team member, Jasmine, Tiffany M. and Francesca, are doing wetlands monitoring in Crumpit Woods, along West Brohm Creek, and on both sides of the highway just south of Finch Drive (Loggers Lane and Britannia slough).
We have five species that breed in the ephemeral wetlands of the floodplain (including red-legged frog, rough-skinned newt, Pacific tree frog, Northwestern salamander, and long-toed salamander). These wetlands typically dry out in late July to August, and this is totally natural and not concerning, as the larval amphibians have ample time to reach metamorphosis and leave the pond before it goes dry. This year is particularly dire, given the early heat wave we got in mid-May and the lack of rainfall since then. Nearly all the wetlands are already dry or will be dry before the larval frogs and salamanders can emerge. We have found hundreds of stranded egg masses and larval frog and salamander larvae. We have salvaged where we could, but we are at a point now where even the sites we used for salvage may not last. Jasmine and I will be preparing a report of our findings later in the summer. We hope to raise interest with provincial biologists and project funders to get money for re-working some of the wetlands that were created by SRWS in 2012.
We have five species that breed in the ephemeral wetlands of the floodplain (including red-legged frog, rough-skinned newt, Pacific tree frog, Northwestern salamander, and long-toed salamander). These wetlands typically dry out in late July to August, and this is totally natural and not concerning, as the larval amphibians have ample time to reach metamorphosis and leave the pond before it goes dry. This year is particularly dire, given the early heat wave we got in mid-May and the lack of rainfall since then. Nearly all the wetlands are already dry or will be dry before the larval frogs and salamanders can emerge. We have found hundreds of stranded egg masses and larval frog and salamander larvae. We have salvaged where we could, but we are at a point now where even the sites we used for salvage may not last. Jasmine and I will be preparing a report of our findings later in the summer. We hope to raise interest with provincial biologists and project funders to get money for re-working some of the wetlands that were created by SRWS in 2012.
Stranded egg masses of the Northwestern Salamander
An adult red-legged frog at one of the monitoring sites. This species breeds in the wetlands and the adults use them as refugia.
Larval Northwest Salamander