Ponds

1. Ponds By: Evan Battisto

2. Difference Between a Wetland and an Open Water Habitat • A wetland is an ecosystem that has a wet and spongy soil such as a marsh, swamp, or bog. An open water habitat is a habitat that is all water for a long length.

3. Water Cycle • Precipitation: Water vapor in the air gets cold and changes back into liquid, forming clouds. • Evaporation: Evaporation is when the sun heats up water in rivers or lakes or the ocean and turns it into vapor or steam. The water vapor or steam leaves the river, lake or ocean and goes into the air. • Condensation: Water vapor in the air gets cold and changes back into liquid, forming clouds. • Infiltration: The flow of water from the ground surface into the ground. Once infiltrated, the water becomes soil moisture or groundwater. • Runoff: The variety of ways by which water moves across the land. This includes both surface runoff and channel runoff. As it flows, the water may seep into the ground, evaporate into the air, become stored in lakes or reservoirs, or be extracted for agricultural or other human uses.

4. Life Cycle of a Red-Spotted Newt • The Red-Spotted Newt has a three stage Life Cycle. • They breed in April and May and their eggs hatch in 3-4 weeks. Since Females don’t take care of their kids, they lay 200-400 eggs. In the water it is dark green with dark red spots. On land it is light orange. • Aquatic Larvae: They breed in April and May and their eggs hatch in 3-6 weeks. Since Females don’t take care of their kids, they lay 200-400 eggs. • Terrestrial Efts (the young): They are ½ inch long. Lasts 3-4 months. Has 2 gills and a 2 chamber heart. • Aquatic Adult

5. Life Cycle of a Red-Spotted Newt (continued) • 3. Aquatic Adult: They are 3-4 inches long. • After 2-3 years it grows a powerful flatten tail and returns to water. • Usually lives somewhere between 12-15 years

6. Negative Human Impacts on a Water Ecosystem • Fishing • Pollution • Trees and debris falling in the water • Hot weather can evaporate the water which makes the habitat smaller.

7. Algae Bloom • An algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in an aquatic system. Algal blooms may occur in freshwater as well as marine environments. Typically, only one or a small number of phytoplankton species are involved, and some blooms may be recognized by discoloration of the water resulting from the high density of pigmented cells. • The cause of algae bloom is algae cells dyeing and going to the surface which creates intense heat and kills animals and plants.

8. Animal Indicators and how it relates to Water Quality • An animal indicator is An increase or decrease in an animal population may indicate damage to the ecosystem caused by pollution. For example, if pollution causes the depletion of important food sources, animal species dependent upon these food sources will also be reduced in number: population decline. Overpopulation, can be the result of opportunistic species growth. In addition to monitoring the size and number of certain species, other mechanisms of animal indication include monitoring the concentration of toxins in animal tissues, or monitoring the rate at which deformities arise in animal populations.

9. Aquatic Plants Duckweed Cattail Elodea Algae Pickerelweed Fanwort Bladderwort Watershield

10. Pond Animals Wirlygig Beetle Snapping Turtle Caddis fly (larvae) Dragonfly (nymph) Stonefly (nymph) Red-Spotted Newt Water Boatman Crayfish Backswimmer Damselfly (nymph)