Pond and Lake Biomes: Plants, Animals, Climate, and Threats

Plants

• Submerged: Elodea, pondweed, hornwort, watermilfoil.
• Floating: Duckweed, water hyacinth, water lettuce, lily pads.
• Emergent: Cattails, bulrushes, pickerelweed, iris, arrowhead.
• Marginal: Sedges, rushes, swamp milkweed, cardinal flower.

Animals

• Invertebrates: Dragonfly nymphs, crayfish, snails, freshwater mussels, water boatmen.
• Amphibians: Frogs, toads, salamanders, newts.
• Reptiles: Turtles (painted, snapping), water snakes.
• Fish: Minnows, sunfish, bass, catfish, carp, koi, goldfish.
• Birds: Herons, kingfishers, ducks, geese, red-winged blackbirds.
• Mammals: Muskrats, beavers, otters, raccoons, mink.

Climate Effects

• Temperature drives stratification, oxygen levels, and metabolism.
• Evaporation in summer concentrates nutrients → algae blooms.
• Winter ice cover limits gas exchange; can cause winterkill.
• Rainfall affects water level, nutrient runoff, and salinity.

Major Threats

• Nutrient pollution (fertilizer runoff, sewage) → eutrophication.
• Invasive species (zebra mussels, hydrilla, carp, snakeheads).
• Habitat loss (draining, shoreline development).
• Climate change (warming, altered precipitation).
• Chemical contamination (pesticides, heavy metals).

For a school project, the *Golden Guide to Pond Life* (linked in original) is an excellent, concise resource.