Headstarting

Andrea Joy Adams

We spin around from shore to water
waltzing with the stream flow
Placing the enclosures we crafted
from laundry baskets, mesh, glue

The eggs clustered tightly 
to one another in the stream bed
We delicately detach a small number—
a sacrifice to increase survival

The embryos in their perfect spheres
Tiny animals curled fetal
A window to the past
when we all look the same

Tiny packets of possibility—
sixteen hundred eggs per clutch
Without assistance, only one might
become a breeding adult

The shelter of the enclosures
creates more possibilities
Weighting the numbers game 
for more eggs to become frogs

In situ—in the place of origin
This place: one of the last remaining
streams where this frog persists
But here, too, they are losing ground

Investing this effort, now
Trying to give back, replacing
what was taken away
Though we didn’t know it at the time

The Science

Embryonic frogs emerge from eggs as tiny tadpoles, and through the stages of metamorphosis, become something new and entirely different. The endangered foothill yellow-legged frog (Rana boylii) lays egg masses with 300-2,000 embryos in a clutch, a cluster of eggs laid by one female. Statistically, a clutch may produce only one breeding adult because as they move through the stages of metamorphosis, the rest will be eaten or succumb to naturally occurring developmental abnormalities. In situ (meaning, ‘in its original place’) headstarting gives frogs a better chance for survival — in their own habitats — by helping more tadpoles achieve metamorphosis in protected enclosures. My research integrates in situ headstarting to understand the best methods for preventing this frog’s extinction and eventually helping it recover.

The Poet

Andrea Joy Adams is a conservation ecologist living in California, where she integrates scientific research with metaphorical bridge-building and knowledge sharing. She also writes essays, blogs, and poetry to express the subtext, depth, and experience that is beyond the scope of the peer-reviewed scientific literature. Learn more at andreajoyadams.com, and on Instagram @andreajoyadams.

Next poem: Life Under the Butterfly Effect by Michele Issel