Pond Animals

Zonation

• Life in a pond is correlated with its zonation into the littoral, limnetic, profundal, and benthic zone

• The greatest diversity is found in the littoral zone

Invertebrate Life

• As in the stream macroinvertebrates are common lower level consumers

• They include:1. Snails2. Water Bugs3. Damselfly Nymphs4. Dragonfly Nymphs5. Whirligig Beetles6. Predacious Diving Beetles

Snails & Water Bugs

• Snails are grazers that primary feed on algae, making them primary consumers

• Water bugs are major consumers of snails, making them secondary consumers

Damselflies & Dragonflies

• Damselflies and Dragonflies are both secondary consumers that eat a variety of prey

• They are sit and wait predators that have a hinged retractable mouth part that enables them to quickly capture their prey

• They breath in their abdomen by pumping water in and out. They can also eject water in this manner to escape predators.

Beetles

• The Whirligig and Predacious Diving Beetles are secondary consumers that like the Damselflies and Dragonflies feed on a variety of prey

Vertebrate Animals

• Pond vertebrates are a diverse group, including members of all the vertebrate classes.

• Some are restricted to water, like the fish, while others, like the amphibians, reptiles, and mammals, are more or less dependent on water.

Fishes

• Fish one of the more mobile of animals in the pond and thus frequent all pond zones.

• The Centrarchids or sunfish, including green sunfish and large mouth bass are quite common

Amphibians: Bullfrogs

• Bullfrogs are a common pond inhabitant that feed on anything that can fit in their mouth.

• Their tadpoles are large and require two years to mature to the point of metamorphosis.

Amphibians: North Cricket Frog

• Cricket Frogs are common pond and stream inhabitants.

• They are small, take on a variety of colors and patterns

• When disturbed they jump into the water, turn, and return immediately to the waters edge

Reptiles:Northern Water Snake

• Northern Water Snakes are common pond and stream habitats.

• They are brown and have a characteristic banded pattern that confuses novices into thinking that they are copperheads or water moccasins.

• They are a higher level consumer that feeds on fish.

Birds: Great Blue Heron

• The most ubiquitous of pond birds is the Great Blue Heron.

• They stalk their fish and amphibian prey as the they slowly walk in the shallows of the littoral zone.

Plankton in the Limnetic

• Small microscopic autotrophs (phytoplankton) and heterotrophs (zooplankton) inhabit the limnetic zone of the pond.

• Here there is an abundance of available sunlight driving this community.

Decomposers in the Benthic

• Decomposing organisms, from microscopic bacteria to macroinvertebrates like the crayfish, inhabit this zone.

• Some organisms may also have to have adaptations that increase their ability to acquire oxygen, like the blood worm.