The distribution and function of small, temporarily ponded wetlands such as vernal pools are driven by climate variation, especially precipitation. These wetland ecosystems provide important habitat for amphibians, whose breeding effort (egg deposition) is often used to characterize pool habitat quality. However, whether breeding effort consistently predicts larval survival, juvenile production, and overall reproductive output—key indicators of habitat quality for amphibians in a varying environment—remains unclear. We assessed the occurrence of spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) and wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) larvae in 71 vernal pools in New York, USA during the spring and summer of 2016 and 2017—the fifth driest and third wettest years in regional history, respectively—to better understand the relationship between breeding effort and metamorph production under environmental extremes. Breeding effort was an important predictor of whether late-stage larvae occurred in pools for both species. However, occurrence of late-stage larvae was substantially lower for both species during 2016, i.e., the drought year, when pools dried rapidly. These outcomes suggest that, in the face of an increasingly variable climate, prioritizing clusters of pools that encompass a range of hydroperiods and include high-productivity pools would help maintain populations of vernal-pool dependent amphibians.

小型临时池塘湿地（如春季水池）的分布和功能受气候变化（尤其是降水）驱动。这些湿地生态系统为两栖动物提供了重要的栖息地，两栖动物的繁殖努力（卵的沉积）通常被用来表征水池的栖息地质量。但是，育种努力是否能始终如一地预测幼虫的存活，幼体生产和总体生殖产出（在不同环境中两栖动物的栖息地质量的关键指标）仍不清楚。我们评估了斑点sal（Ambystoma maculatum）和木蛙（Lithobates sylvaticus）的发生。）2016年春季和夏季以及2017年（分别是该地区历史上第五个最干旱的年份和第三个最潮湿的年份）在美国纽约的71个春季池中的幼虫，以便更好地了解极端环境下的繁殖努力与变质产生之间的关系。育种努力是两个物种池中后期幼虫是否发生的重要预测指标。然而，在2016年（即干旱年），这两个物种的后期幼虫的发生率均显着降低，这时池迅速干燥。这些结果表明，面对日益变化的气候，将包括一系列水文周期并包括高生产力池在内的池群划分优先级将有助于维持春季池依赖的两栖动物种群。