Pond Studies
Grade Level Second to Sixth Duration  Prep time: 15 minutes  Activity time: 1 to 2 hours Vocabulary  Hydrology  Hydric  Hydrophytic  Macroinvertebrate  Peat  Wetland Materials  Macroinvertebrate identification keys  Macroinvertebrate Lifecycle Cards  4 Underwater bug viewers  4 Dip nets  10 Magnifying glasses  10 Plastic cups with magnifying lid  5 Plastic dish tubs  10 Aquarium nets  Clipboards  Pencils  Rulers Worksheets  Pond Studies  Pond Studies & Water Quality Learner Objectives
Getting Ready!
Students will:  Define food chain, food web, predator, and prey  Name and locate 3 basic wetland characteristics (emergent, floating, submergent, substrate or muck)  Demonstrate effective aquatic invertebrate collecting techniques using science equipment  Use a simple chart key to successfully identify common freshwater macroinvertebrates  Work as a team to construct a food chain and food web and identify interrelationships  Name at least one way people can help wetlands 
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Read background information Set up collecting tools, buckets, ice cube trays, and macroinvertebrate field guides If time allows, consider doing this lesson in conjunction with Macro Mayhem or Water Quality depending on age group Summary
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the basic ecology of underwater life found in the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges and the importance of these organisms in the food web. Students will collect aquatic macroinvertebrates and select at least one to identify using a simple dichotomous key. They will read an informational card about that macroinvertebrate to discover what that animal eats and what eats it. Background Information
A wetland is an area that is covered with water for all or part of the year. It is the transition zone between open water and land. Wetlands are classified by hydrology, hydric (saturated) soils, and hydrophytic (water tolerant) plant communities. Wetlands are generally thought of as coastal or inland. Coastal wetlands include tidal marshes, estuaries, and marine environments. Inland wetlands include a variety of marshes, swamps, and fens. Inland marshes include freshwater marshes, wet meadows, wet prairies, prairie potholes, playas, and vernal pools. Swamps include forested bogs, shrub swamps, and mangrove swamps. Fens are peat‐forming wetlands that receive nutrients and water from upslope sources through drainage rather than precipitation. Wetland classification depends on the source of water, the presence or absence of peat, and dominant large vegetation. For example, the word “marsh” describes a US Fish and Wildlife Service Klamath Basin Refuge Complex Wetland Curriculum ©US Fish & Wildlife Service & Klamath Bird Observatory 2012 Version 1.0 Lesson Plan
wetland with non‐woody vegetation that grows taller than the water (e.g. cattails). On the other hand, a swamp is dominated by trees. Fens are dominated by grasses, sedges, and wildflowers. Wetland habitats provide many ecological functions. Wetlands are one of the most productive ecosystems on earth, rivaling that even of the rainforests, due to the diversity and abundance of plant and animal life found there. Biodiversity refers to the richness or variation of life forms found in an ecosystem or biome. Wetlands provide resting place for migratory birds; are important nursery habitats for young animals; and provide nutrient rich foods. Additionally, wetlands help to store ground water, filter pollutants and heavy metals, and protect coast lines. The Klamath Basin Refuges Complex consists of a variety of habitats including freshwater marshes, open water bodies, grassy meadows, coniferous forests, sagebrush and juniper grasslands, agricultural lands, and rocky cliffs and slopes. Along the Discovery Marsh trail you can find examples of three different types of wetlands habitats. Permanent wetlands will stay wet and retain water all year‐long, making them ideal stop‐over habitats for migrating waterfowl. Seasonal wetlands will have standing water for a portion of the year and will be dry for the remaining months. During dry periods, these wetlands are often farmed to grow grain and grasses, which provide birds with a food source; during wet months, the food source is underwater making these habitats ideal for diving and dabbling ducks. Moist soil wetlands, or mudflats, that are rich with many different species of macroinvertebrates living in the mud are ideal shorebird habitats. Freshwater macroinvertebrates are animals without backbones that are larger than ½ millimeter (i.e. can be seen with the naked eye). These animals live in water on rocks, logs, sediment, debris, and aquatic plants during some period of their life. Macroinvertebrates include crustaceans such as crayfish, mollusks such as clams and snails, aquatic worms and the immature forms of aquatic insects such as stoneflies and mayflies. Macroinvertebrates have a widespread distribution and are found in any type of water environment. Most species can be found throughout the year, but the largest numbers occur in the spring just before adults reproduce. Macroinvertebrates remain in the water for most of their lives (typically one month to four years). After becoming adults, the majority of insects live for only a brief time, usually a few hours to a few days, while they locate mates and reproduce. Macroinvertebrates are often used as indicators of stream health – generally speaking, the greater diversity of macros, the healthier the water body. Macroinvertebrates are an important part of the food web, especially for fish, and then ultimately the birds that eat fish. In addition, many shorebirds and waterfowl will eat the macros directly from the water or muddy lake bottoms. Many macroinvertebrates feed on algae and bacteria, which are on the lower end of the food web. Some shred and eat leaves US Fish and Wildlife Service Klamath Basin Refuge Complex Wetland Curriculum ©US Fish & Wildlife Service & Klamath Bird Observatory 2012 Version 1.0 Lesson Plan
and other organic matter that enters the water. Because of their abundance and position as “middlemen” in the aquatic food web, macroinvertebrates play a critical role in the natural flow of energy and nutrients. As they die, they decay, leaving behind nutrients that are reused by aquatic plants and other animals in the food web. Without macroinvertebrates, there would be no food for fish and shorebirds, and no fish for birds. Poor water quality is the largest threat to macroinvertebrate diversity and populations. (For more information on macroinvertebrates as indicators of biological integrity see Macro Mayhem Lesson.) Sample wetland food web depicting the transfer of energy up the trophic scale. During this activity, students will explore the rich variety of life underwater at the Klamath Basin Refuge which is the foundation of the wetland’s food web, making it an ideal place for wildlife to rear and feed their young or refuel during long migratory journeys. Discuss! 1. Tell students that through a pond study, we will investigate the food web of a wetland and explore the diversity of the marcoinvertebrates that play a critical role in wetlands. 2. Explain that food webs are important because humans are a part of them, and we depend upon them for our survival on this planet. They are also essential for all life on earth, including the many migratory and nesting birds which depend upon Klamath Basin Refuges. 3. Explain the procedure and tools necessary for the collection of marcoinvertebrates. US Fish and Wildlife Service Klamath Basin Refuge Complex Wetland Curriculum ©US Fish & Wildlife Service & Klamath Bird Observatory 2012 Version 1.0 Lesson Plan
Investigate! 1. Students will investigate the layers of the wetland from top to bottom (on the surface of the water to the muck). 2. Designate a muck bucket. 3. Give students plenty of time for this step and encourage them to take their time. 4. Students should place their macroinvertebrate in one of the “bug viewers” or closely study the creature with a magnifying glass, key it out using the dichotomous key, draw a picture on the provided worksheet, and write the name of the macroinvertebrate. 5. Assist students in collecting and using the keys to identify their catches. 6. Be sure that macroinvertebrates are in water at all times and kept out of the direct sun as much as possible. 7. Students should estimate the number of different macroinvertebrates collected. 8. Back in the classroom, have them describe this data set in terms of high and low values, median, and mode. 9. Distribute the food web worksheets and have students try to correctly draw arrows depicting the flow of food (energy) up the trophic scales. Once they are finished, it should resemble a wetland food web. 10. Have students find their macroinvertebrate on one of the cards and have students discover their macroinvertebrate eats and what eats it (predator – prey relationship). 11. Ask students to share their findings with one another. Return samples to the water. Wrap up & Review! Emphasize interdependence and the impact of human actions or natural events such as pollution or flooding. Ask students how people can be “wetland‐friendly”. Pre‐Post Activity Ideas 1. Students could also draw a sketch for each different creature found and tally marks for the number found. Which creature seems to be the most common? The rarest? Why? 2. Literature Launcher! Read Horseshoe Crabs and Shorebirds: The Story of the Food Web by Victoria Crenson and Annie Cannon. Also try this book: Pond Water Zoo: An Introduction to Microscopic Life by H. Peter Loewer. Another good book is What’s in the Pond? by Anne Hunter 3. Conduct the activity “Water Canaries” from Project WILD Aquatic. 4. Study the vocabulary words. Extensions for 5th to 8th Grade Students 1. Challenge older students to figure out the water quality (excellent, good, fair, poor) based on the biotic index and value of the macroinvertebrates collected. 2. Have students key out all of the macroinvertebrates collected and the number of each species. US Fish and Wildlife Service Klamath Basin Refuge Complex Wetland Curriculum ©US Fish & Wildlife Service & Klamath Bird Observatory 2012 Version 1.0 Lesson Plan
3. Back in the classroom or in the field after the group has finished collecting macroinvertebrates, have students create a table to calculate the total biotic value for each organism collected. 4. See resource list below: a. http://www.ncsu.edu/sciencejunction/depot/experiments/water/lessons/macro/
macrolesson1.html b. http://www.water‐research.net/Waterlibrary/Lake/bioticindexchart.pdf c. http://watermonitoring.uwex.edu/wav/monitoring/biotic.html US Fish and Wildlife Service Klamath Basin Refuge Complex Wetland Curriculum ©US Fish & Wildlife Service & Klamath Bird Observatory 2012 Version 1.0 Name:________________________
Date:__________
Student Worksheet: Pond Studies
Using the field guides and dichotomous keys, identify all of the macroinvertebrates your group collects, record the total number, and draw three in the space below. Type of Macroinvertebrate Pollution Tolerance Total Collected Macroinvertebrate Sketching Choose three different macroinvertebrates to sketch. Label each sketch with the correct name. US Fish and Wildlife Service Klamath Basin Refuge Complex Wetland Curriculum © US Fish & Wildlife Service and Klamath Bird Observatory 2012 Version 1.0 Name:________________________
Date:__________
Student Worksheet: Pond Studies
Draw arrows to indicate the flow of food and energy in this wetland food web! US Fish and Wildlife Service Klamath Basin Refuge Complex Wetland Curriculum © US Fish & Wildlife Service and Klamath Bird Observatory 2012 Version 1.0