Transcript Pond Life
Pond Life Vocabulary Habitat- A place in an ecosystem where a population lives Ecosystem- A community and its physical environment together Habitats Must provide each species present with all of its life needs Food Water Oxygen Space Protection from predators Protection from temperature extremes Breeding places Limiting Factors The lack of any of species’ life needs becomes a limiting factor Limiting factor effects size of population and size of species Habitat- PONDS Surface Surface= The top part of the pond Surface film- the boundary between the water and the air Different groups of organisms can be found living on the upper surface clinging to the underside Insects- renew their supply of oxygen Terrestrial insects- provide a food source Open Water Open Water= Deeper water away from the shore Contains free swimming organisms Fish Free floating plants and animals Pond Animals Pond Animals Mammals- Beavers, raccoons, muskrats Birds- ducks, red winged blackbirds, swallows Reptiles- turtles, snakes Amphibians- frogs, toads, newts, salamanders Fish Insects- mosquitoes, dragonflies, mayflies, etc. Crayfish, clams, snails, spiders, worms Bottom Bottom= The lower area where dead material settles and decomposes Receives dead material (detritus) Feces Dead plants Dead animals Material from land organisms that live near by Many living things reside on bottom taking advantage of dependable quantities of food Temperatures more consistent toward bottom Oxygen levels low Zones Shore Region/Zones Contains many zones Zone of emergent vegetation Zone of Floating Leafed Plants Water is too deep for emergent plants Zone of Submerged Vegetation Cattails, rooted plants that raise their leaves above surface Plants living on the bottom All of these zones form a distinct habitat for animals Life Cycle of a Pond A pond is a community of plants and animals which has a definite life span May be built by beavers, humans, or glaciers Young ponds are relatively deep, but have a limited supply of nutrients for plant growth As a pond ages, nutrients are added as plants and animals die and decay Types of plants and animals living in the pond depend change as environmental conditions change Succession Eventually the pond will be completely filled in and become a meadow All communities of plants and animals go through this process Interrelationships Interrelationships Green plants produce their own food (photosynthesis), which uses energy from the sun and inorganic chemicals from the environment All other inhabitants of a pond get food by consuming other living things or products of living things Herbivores eat plants Carnivores, or predators, eat animals Omnivores eat both plants and animals Decomposers eat dead organisms and waste products Energy Flow/Food Chain Green plants (algae) herbivores (tadpoles) Carnivores (giant water bugs) Any change in the environment which affects one part of the community will have an effect on every other part of the community