7.2. POND LIFE
(Level: 7 : 10 acad : 10 appl : 11 acad : 11 appl : 12 acad)

What You Do:

In addition to the tools for collecting pond life, each group will need multiple copies of the Animal I.D. Record (available here if you cannot view pop-up windows), the Animal Life Observation Sheet (available here if you cannot view pop-up windows), and the Plant Observation Sheet (available here if you cannot view pop-up windows).

Animal Life

Working in groups of 5:

Person 1: Label 4 jars and record observations on activity sheets.

Person 2: Sample with the dip net for animals around the plants growing in the water along the shoreline. Place any animals caught in a sampling jar labelled "On Plants".

Person 3: Sample with the dip net for animals along the surface of the water. Place any animals caught in a collecting jar labelled "Surface".

Person 4: Sample animals completely under the water away from plants using a kitchen sieve or jar to collect them. Place any animals caught in a sampling jar labelled "Open Water".

Person 5: Collect a sample of muck from the bottom and swirl in a sieve to strain out the muck. Place any animals caught in a sampling jar labelled "Bottom".

After the collecting is complete, as a group, remove the animals from the "On Plants" jar and place them carefully in the observation basin. Carefully examine the animals. Use an identification guide/key to name each animal. You may wish to fill in a chart for each animal observed Count how many animals you have collected for each species. Observe any structural adaptations, and state a reason for that adaptation. Record the groups' observations on the chart.

Repeat this action for each of the other 3 sampling jars. Carefully return the animals back to the pond where they were found.

Plant Life

1. Carefully observe the plants growing in the water. Choose 2 different plants from each zone (i.e. above water, below water, floating). Use an identification guide/key to name each plant. Record the types of plants in the chart and the location where each plant was found (above water - AW, below water - BW, and floating - F). Measure or estimate the depth of water where each type of plant is growing. Include an animal that uses that plant, and check off if the plant is used for food (F) or cover (C), or both.

Follow-up Questions and Classroom Activities:

1. In which habitat area were the largest number of different animals caught? Why? On a bar graph, graph the individual animals found, and the number of each individual animal found to illustrate which are more common.
2. What adaptation is shared by animals living in all of the 4 habitat areas?
3. What is the importance of the structural adaptations to animals living in a pond habitat?
4. Starting from the shore, how do the plants change as the water deepens?
5. What is the correct name for the 3 plant zones in a typical pond? Explain how a plant is adapted for living in each of these zones.
6. Are there any plants growing on the surface in the middle of the pond? Why?

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