Tom Tyning will give a presentation about spring amphibians during a Greenfield Conservation Commission program Saturday, April 16. at 6:30 p.m. at Greenfield Meeting House, 776 Forest Road.
During the indoor portion of the program, Tyning will introduce frogs and salamanders that make early spring their time. Throughout the region, wood frogs and spring peepers, who spent the winter in the forest leaf litter, emerge on warmish, rainy nights and migrate to wetlands to reproduce. Spotted and Jefferson salamanders, who spend the winter deep underground and below the frostline, know when the first rains hit the surface and gather in groups called congresses that go through elaborate courtship dances before they lay their eggs.
For all amphibian larvae there is a race against time, requiring them to get enough food to grow fast enough to leave their wetlands before they evaporate. If they are big enough, they may survive on land to return to their pools as adults some five to seven years later.
After the indoor portion, Tyning will take people to a nearby wetland or vernal pool to find and see some of the amphibians he talked about. Attendees should wear warm, waterproof clothes for the outside, and children are welcome.
Tyning is the author of “A Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles” and is an authority on New England natural history and habitat. He focuses mainly on amphibians and reptilian species and habitats. He is a professor of environmental science at Berkshire Community College and has served as an adjunct professor at Antioch New England Graduate School and Springfield College, where he teaches courses in amphibian biology, herpetology, field entomology and field ornithology.
He has worked as a field biologist and master naturalist with the Massachusetts Audubon Society for 24 years. Tyning is the author of many articles, columns and books on nature, and is currently the managing editor of “Herpetological Review.”
This program is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Roger Lessard 603-933-3130