According to the calendar, spring is right around the corner! As we look forward to sunnier skies and warmer temperatures, we can also soon expect to see more signs of life around lakes and ponds. Our Georgia winters are temperate enough that the hibernation period for most mammals is short or non-existent, so you’ve probably seen rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks all season long. Cold-blooded animals are more likely to have disappeared for a few months. So where exactly have all of the aquatic creatures been during the winter months?
Most of them have entered some period of hibernation; the hibernation process for reptiles is sometimes called brumation. Both terms refer to a period of dramatically slowed metabolism, during which the animal expends much less energy than when active.
Amphibians
While some terrestrial frogs can freeze solid in the winter then revive with the thaw, aquatic frogs go underwater when temperatures go down, absorbing oxygen through their skin. Although they are largely dormant, aquatic frogs can sometimes be seen swimming – slowly – in the winter months.
Reptiles
Many turtles survive winter buried beneath the mud at the bottom of ponds and streams; some species (such as painted turtles) are able to stay submerged for up to three months with zero blood oxygen levels. Water snakes also enter a form of brumation in the winter, remaining awake but generally inactive, and finding dens (often with many other snakes) in concealed locations like hollow tree trunks, abandoned burrows, or even under deep piles of leaves. Snakes will emerge to seek water during the winter, so snake encounters in cold months are still possible.
Insects
Some aquatic insect species (including many types of mosquitoes) survive winter as larvae just beneath the surface of the water; others, including mayflies and dragonflies, migrate deeper into the water, where the temperatures are higher than at the surface.
Regardless of where they wintered, you can expect to see lots of aquatic animals emerge in the coming weeks!
