Activity 3
Now that you have data about at least 8 pond water organisms, is time to write about what you have learned. Write a paragraph or two describing the organisms you have seen and their behaviors. How do you think these organisms might contribute to the overall activity of the pond? For example, which organisms are plants or algae (producers) and which are protists or animals (consumers)? How do you think these organisms might fit together to form an inter-dependent community in the pond? Draw a proposed food chain based upon the organisms you have observed or obtained information about. This information should be typed (although you may draw your proposed food chain by hand) and attached to the Skill Check worksheet that you turn in next week.
Activity 4
The organisms that you have observed are probably only a small part of the overall pond ecosystem. It is likely that there are other larger organisms that are also part of the system. Take the information that you described in Activity 3, and speculate how it would change if you were to add the following list of organisms into the ecosystem. How would feeding relationships change? If you were to speculate on the populations of each of the different organisms (those you have observed, and those present on the list below), which of the organisms would you expect would be present in the greatest numbers? Which would be present in the lowest numbers (think about the energy pyramid from the pre-lab)? Add a paragraph or two to the information from Activity 3 that describes these modifications and hand this in attached to the Skill Check worksheet next week.
List of other pond life:
mosquito larvae
Frog
Mosquito fish
Great blue heron