The Conservation Report

After more than 50 years of absence, a Yale scientist has rediscovered a rare fairy shrimp (Eubranchipus holmani) in Groton, Connecticut, and he wants to put it on the state’s endangered species list.

Most people don’t see the importance of preserving obscure, tiny, or creepy-crawly creatures. However, these creatures may be important to the survival of those creatures that make the front covers of Newsweek or Time.

Additionally, when we preserve these little creatures we are required to preserve their habitats. Vernal or seasonal pools are important habitats for many aquatic creatures like salamanders and fairy shrimp. Furthermore, since vernal pools can come and go quickly, they are at risk of development. In the spirit of conservation we should protect these transient wetlands and the creatures that depend on them. From the Hartford Courant, United States:

The fairy shrimp is named for its graceful swimming strokes. Its legs beat in waves, like fingers practicing scales on the piano. In the wild, fairy shrimp snack on plant matter and bacteria and live in puddles and other temporary freshwater pools. Their eggs can withstand years of drought, hatching when the rains replenish their pools.

Their translucent bodies provide camouflage in the water but otherwise fairy shrimp have few defenses, making them easy pickings for frogs and predatory insects. “They’re the opossum of the invertebrate world,” said Lazo-Wasem….

In a recent letter to Groton, Lazo-Wasem has asked for permission to return to the site where he found E. holmani to survey the pool and monitor future changes. He also wants to see if a related clam shrimp, last seen at Bluff Point State Park in the 1970s, is living there.

Updated every five years, the state’s list of endangered plants and animals will be fully revised by 2009. Currently more than four dozen species are listed as endangered, mostly due to lost habitat. Ultimately, the commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection will decide whether to add E. holmani.

On the Net: Vernal Pool Association