Water Quality in Local Lakes and Ponds Aquatic Ecology Unit

Warm-up question What organisms (animals, plants, and other living things) do you think live in this lake?

Aquatic life Lots of species live in our lakes and ponds! Now, how are they related to each other? How can we figure out how the whole ecosystem works?

Food webs A way to show our understanding of species interactions We use diagrams called food webs to show the relationship these animals and other organism have to each other in an ecosystem.

Food web basics Arrows show who is eaten by whom Squirrel Acorns

Real food webs Real ecosystems are often very complex! Let’s just focus on some of the most important ones living in the open waters of the lake.

Open waters of lakes How do the animals you listed at the beginning of class fit into the ecosystem? Which groups are most important here? Fish Zooplankton Phytoplankton Insects

Aquatic life We’ll focus attention on the lower part of the food web—the phytoplankton (everything else depends on them!) In what ways can humans affect phytoplankton? Does what we do on the land surrounding the water matter?

Eutrophication Definition: over abundance of primary producers (algae and plants) from excess nutrients

Field trip to local park We’ll study the condition of several local lakes. We’ll collect data to learn about: –Water quality –Microscopic algae (phytoplankton) and animals (zooplankton)

Map of lakes