The breeders are amphibians. Their places of pleasure are the tiny, often temporary, wetlands of our forests. Moist depressions, small ponds, and puddles, seeps, and small streams provide the essential element, water, which most amphibians need to breed. The class of animals known as amphibians include salamanders, frogs, toads, and caecilians, worm-like animals with backbones. The majority of amphibians are terrestrial as adults, but their larvae are aquatic.
Most amphibians lay soft eggs in water.
The eggs hatch to reveal a larval form. In the case of frogs and toads, the larvae are tadpoles, which depend on aquatic environments for survival. As the larvae grow, they experience radical physiological changes, a process known as metamorphosis, that transforms them into adults. Forested wetlands are the main breeding sites. Because many forested wetlands are subject to periodic flooding from high ground water levels and heavy rains, temporary ponds form.