These guys are my personal favorites—fairy shrimp that are found only in ephemeral wetlands, like this vernal pool. They are freshwater relatives of Sea Monkeys and other brine shrimp and this is actually the first time I’ve seen them in person.
As the year goes on, the ponds and puddles formed by snowmelt and spring rain dry up. Fish cannot survive in these habitats, which makes them crucial ecosystems for the larvae of frogs and salamanders. Fairy shrimp are obligate inhabitants of vernal pools because their eggs require a period of drying and re-wetting before they will hatch. Utterly defenseless, they live only a few weeks—but their eggs can remain dormant and viable in dry ground for centuries. You can see the eggs attached to the female shrimp in the photos above like clusters of greenish blobs.
