How to study a pond habitat

Equipment you will need

Net: For catching small fish and tadpoles

Pooter: A device for sucking up small organisms from leaves or under stones where it is dry near the edge of the pond.

Meter Rule or tape measure : for measuring the size of the pond or the depth of the water

Notebook and pencil: to draw diagrams and write down what you see

Hand lens: To make more detailed observations

 

 

Extra apparatus for making more detailed measurements

Thermometer: It may be useful to record the temperature of different parts of the water

Light meter: To measure the light intensity

Digital camera: Photographs can often tell you more things than a written description

 

 

 

How to keep safe

Keep away from the edge of the pond except where yoy are told it is safe.

Do not lean out over the water

Do not run or push anybody

Wash your hands as soon as you return.

 

What you do

Make a labelled sketch of the pond

Make a list of any animals of animals and plants you recognise
Remember it is important to write down where you see them as will as their name.

Record any interesting observations

Take some photographs of the area

 

What you can measure

The size of the pond (using the metre rule or tape measure)

The depth of the water in different places (You may need an adult to help with this)

The temperature of the water (using the thermometer)

The amount of light (using the light meter)


KEY

1. Heron: eats fish
2. Kingfisher: eats insects, small snails
3. Dragonfly: Insect. eats even smaller insects!
4. Perch: a small fish, eats pond weed 		5: Snail: eats small plants
6: Canaadian Pond Weed
7: Reeds
8: Frog: Eats small insects

 

A cross section across a typical pond

How many of these questions can you answer?

1. What is the importance of the plants to the other life in the pond?

2. In what way does the depth of this pond vary as you move across the pond from the right?

3.Pick out of the diagram

  1. a bird
  2. an insect
  3. a mollusc
  4. an amphibian
  5. a green plant
  6. a producer
  7. a carnivore
  8. a herbivore
  9. a predator

4. write down one food chain from this pond:

 

 

 

Answers at the bottom of this page .. Scroll down to see them

 

Click here for Notes on Frogs

 

 

Answers to questions

 

1. Larger plants (like the reeds) provide shelter, protection and shade. The underwater plants (canaadian Pondweed) also provide food and oxygen for the water animals.

2. The pond gets deeper as you move to the right.

3.:

  1. a bird: Heron and kingfisher:
  2. an insect: Dragonfly
  3. a mollusc: Pondsnail
  4. an amphibian: Frog
  5. a green plant: Pondweed, reeds
  6. a producer: Pondweed, reeds
  7. a carnivore: Frog, Heron, Kingfisher, Dragonfly
  8. a herbivore : Pondsnail
  9. a predator : Heron

4. Food chain:

Pondweed Perch Heron

Pondweed Snail Kingfisher

 

 

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