A Field Guide to the Pond Ecosystem at the Watershed Center

Identification:
Cattails can grow to be 6-8 feet. The narrow leaf cattail has narrow leaves.

Niche:
Cattails spread their seed when the wind blows or they spread by the roots. Cattails grow in freshwater areas. Cattails grow faster than fertilized corn in a field. All parts of a cattails are edible. Cattails produce food for animals. Cattails are producers.

Sources:
www.fcps.edu/.../common_cattail.htm
The Pond Life less ↑

Gyrinus substriatus is a species of beetle native to Europe, the Near East, and North Africa. In Europe, it is only found in Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Great Britain (incl. Isle of Man,Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, mainland Denmark, Estonia, Finland, mainland France, Germany, mainland Greece, Hungary, Ireland, mainland Italy, Liechtenstein, the Republic of Macedonia, mainland Norway, Poland, mainland Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, mainland Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Ukraine and Yugoslavia. This is... less ↑

There are only two types of beavers in the world, the North American Beaver and the Eurasian Beaver. The beaver I found in the Watershed Center is the North American Beaver. You can identify a beaver by its color the size and where it lives. The beaver is brown and it’s around three feet long. They also have flat tails that they slap in the water when they think there is danger close to them. You can find beavers in lakes ponds and rivers.

The North American beaver is a consumer which means it eats other living things. Beavers are herbivores. That means beavers only eat plants like bark from trees, leaves and buds from living trees. Beavers are lower on the food chain so beavers build lodges so their predators like wolves, coyotes, bears,and eagles can't get to them.

Beavers have a huge role in the ecosystem because they kill trees and make dams with the trees. This is very important because their dams make the ponds or rivers overflow, creating new wetland habitats.

Sources:

Voices.yahoo.com/25-intresting-facts-beavers-8600107.html

diet.yukozimo.com/what-do-beavers-eat/ less ↑

Identification
There is a red blob near its mouth, and brown all a round its body.

Energy Role

The Rainbow Trout is a Producer, because cause it eats other things to get energy.
it eats fish. Sometimes they eat to much fish that are native to some lakes and all the fish die. Sometimes they transmit other contagious diseases that kill other fish. Their predators include bears, river otters, raccoons, humans. less ↑

Identification
The pumpkinseed fish is a freshwater fish. It is a member of the sunfish family. These fish live in clear lakes and slow moving streams. It’s a medium sized fish. Pumpkinseed fish are a mix between brown, green, yellow, and orange. They are speckled.

Niche
The pumpkin seed fish is a consumer. It is an omnivore because they eat worms, leaves and algae.

Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkinseed
http://hatch.cehd.umn.edu/research/fish/fishes/pumpkinseed.html
http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Lepomis_gibbosus/ less ↑

Identification
The Canada goose is the largest bird in the north. Its length is 75 to 110cm. It has a long black neck. They have a white ring around the head. Its lifespan is 10-24 years old. If you see them in a group together they are called a flock. They live mostly in the US and Canada a tiny bit in Asia. The interesting thing about the birds is that there are 11 subspecies in the Canada goose.

Energy Role
It eats grasses, grains, rice, corn, some aquatic plants and some types of beans. Their main predators that get their energy from these animals are dogs, raccoons, foxes, owls, and weasels.It is an herbivorous consumer. That means it only eats plats.

Sources:
www.nationalgeographic.com/canada goose-

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art12530.asp less ↑

Gerridae is a family of true bugs in the order Hemiptera, commonly known as water striders, water bugs, magic bugs, pond skaters, skaters, skimmers, water scooters, water skaters, water skeeters, water skimmers, water skippers, water spiders, or Jesus bugs. One main characteristic that sets gerrids and other true bugs apart from other insects is that the front wing is only half functional. Rather than using it for flight, it acts as a membranous covering and the... less ↑

Identification:
North American river otters are dark brown on top, with a silvery shimmer on the bottom. They have webbed feet and a tail that is thick at the base and gets smaller to the tip. River otters have a long neck, short legs, a flat head, sturdy claws, whiskers, and no hair on their nose. They have a layer of fat under their skin and dense, oily fur that protects them from cold. Males are slightly larger than females, with a head and body up to 66-127 cm long. Their tail can grow up to 43 cm. They can weigh between 4.5 and 11 kg.

Niche:
River otters are very important because they promote biodiversity. Without river otters, crayfish, frogs, turtles, aquatic insect larvae, angleworms, and fish would overpopulate. Those animals would take over and there would be no biodiversity. Otters are also important because they gives bears, eagles, wolves, coyotes and foxes food.

Sources:
http://www.letus.org/bmatters/animals/otter.html
http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/river_otters.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_river_otter less ↑

Fragrant water lilies are one of the most easily recognized of all the water plants. Large white and sometimes pink many-petaled flowers float on the water's surface surrounded by large, round green leaves. The leaves are often round, cleft at the base, smooth to 25 cm across, often purple on the lower surface, with most of the leaves floating. The white (sometimes pink) fragrant flowers measure up to 25 cm across and have yellow centers surrounded by 25 or more petals. After the flower has finished, the stalk forms a spiral and draws the fruit below the water. The fruit is a capsule 1-2 cm in diameter containing many seeds (2-3 mm long).

info:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/plants/weeds/aqua005.html less ↑

BuffleHead Ducks

Identification:
A bufflehead duck has a oval-shaped head. Males tend to have green and purple on their heads with a white patch going across the back of their heads. Their bellies are usually white or a light color. Females are usually a dark color with a light grey belly and a white patch just under the eye on the cheek. They are fairly small ducks with wide bills. Bufflehead males weigh approximately 1 pound. Females weigh an average of 11 ounces.

Niche:
The Bufflehead eats insects, seeds, and plants.
The Bufflehead duck is consumer. It’s a consumer because it feeds on plants and sometimes small animals.
It is an omnivore.
It’s predators are mostly humans, because they hunt them.

They breed near lakes. Sometimes, Bufflehead ducks will stay with the same mate for many years. Females will lay 6-12 eggs in their soft down nests. They tend to build their nests near the water in old woodpecker holes.

Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bufflehead
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/bufflehead/id
http://www.nhptv.org/wild/bufflehead.asp less ↑

Identification:
Milfoil is brownish green. It has lots of petals and is found in freshwater. Myriophyllum is its scientific name. “Myrio” means “too many to count” and “phylum” means “leaves”.

Some types of milfoil are native, but others are invasive. If the invasive types get into a large body of water it is a really hard or impossible to get out . Invasive Eurasian milfoil has aggressively invaded lakes and natural waterways in North America. Eurasian milfoil originates from Europe and Asia, but was introduced to North America many years ago and is now found over much of the United States. It is found in North America and Europe. The roots are under the water but it is sometimes found floating on top of the water.

Niche: Milfoil is a producer because animals eat milfoil. Fish eat milfoil and so do insects. This organism provides shelter for small animals like snails and insects.

If it is the invasive kind, It also changes the ecosystem by filling up the area so that no other weeds can get in and grow and if a plant tries to it cuts it out. It also decreases biodiversity because it does not let plant get in.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myriophyllum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myriophyllum_spicatum http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/plants/weeds/milfoil.html http://www.ehow.com/info_12004017_eats-eurasian-milfoil.html less ↑

Algae is a producer which means it makes its own food from the sunlight. Algae is important because it feeds fish that feed racoons and other smaller animals, which feed the big animals like bears, mountain lions and bobcats. Algae is very interesting. The oceans cover about 71% of the Earth’s surface, yet algae produce more than 71% of the Earth’s oxygen. In fact, some scientists believe that algae produce 87% of the world’s oxygen. They also help remove huge amounts of carbon dioxide.

Sources:
http://www.gotalgae.com/algae_solutions.htm#3

www.fun-science-project-ideas.com less ↑

Identification:
The American bullfrog is the largest frog in the N.A. It can grow to be 8 inches. The sound this frog makes is a deep jug-a-rum.

Niche:
You can find this frog in deep weedy areas. The bullfrog is a consumer. They will eat just about any animal they can swallow like insects, crayfish, worms, minnows and even other bullfrogs.The American bullfrog changes its color to a green brown color so it can hide from predators such as herons, raccoons and snakes.

Sources:
www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/.../bullfrog.htm

Pond Life less ↑

Identification:

Cattails can grow to be 6-8 feet. The narrow leaf cattail has narrow leaves.

Niche:

Cattails spread their seed when the wind blows or they spread by the roots.Cattails grow in freshwater areas. Cattails grow faster than fertilized corn in a field. All parts of a cattails are edible. Cattails produce food for animals. Cattails are producers.

Sources:

www.fcps.edu/.../common_cattail.htm

The Pond Life less ↑

Identification:
The Eastern newt is found in small lakes, slow rivers, wet forests and streams. Young newts are orange with reddish brown dots. Adults are fully aquatic. After 2 or 3 years of being just in wet places it goes to a pond and becomes fully aquatic. The adults have yellowish undersides and their backs are brown with red and brown dots. The larva has gills and does not leave the pond when it is first born. They thrive best in muddy environments.

Niche:
The Eastern newt is a consumer (omnivore) because it eats plants and it eats insects and bugs. The role the newt has is it provides food for animals and it eats plants and the bugs and insects so that they don't overpopulate. It also creates more biodiversity by keeping the bug population down.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_newt less ↑