The pond, a living area
The pond is a wetland containing numerous living things. In this ecosystem, the living things depend on each other. They are part of a food chain and are also connected to their environment.
Grass Snake |
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Scientific name : Natrix, Natrix Size : it is 120 cm long Life span : maximum 19 years Description : the grass snake is dark green or brown, with a yellow collar behind its head. Diet : it mainly eats amphibians, like the frog, mammals and fish from time to time. Characteristics : they are strong swimmers. They hibernate over the winter and mate soon after they emerge in the spring in April or May. They are not venomous. |
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The Green Frog |
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Scientific name : Rana esculenta Size : 4 to 12 centimetres Longevity : 6 to 10 years Description : It has a squat body, a round nose, horizontal pupils. Two lines of glands stand out on the back. In general the top of the body is light green and the bottom is yellow for the male. Food : Arthropods, insects, little shellfish, larvae of amphibians and worms. Characteristic :It lives in lakes, ponds,in wet meadows and the forests. The female lays between 1500 and 4000 eggs. At the end of 3 to 4 weeks tadpoles are born. |
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The grey heron |
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Scientific name : ardea cinerea :Size : It is 95 cms tall and mesure from 1.6 to 2 kg. Longevity : 25 years Description : It is a migratory bird.We can find it in the west of Europe, in the south of Africa, and in the south east of Asia.In the winter we can find it hot countries like Spain,Italy,Central Africa.The grey heron lives on the water plans. Diet : Fish, birds, shellfish, molluscs, little rodents, little mammals, plants, insects, batracians. Characteristic : A long neck, a long and sharp beak.Its plumage is large,white and grey.Its flight is slow because of its folded neck.Its scream is a long "fraaaaank". |
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The
great diving beetle |
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Scientific name : Dytiscus marginalis. Size : It can measure up 27 to 36 mm. Longevity : It can live 3 to 4 years. Description : It is a beetle of the family of the "dytiscidae". It is brown or black and yellow. Food : It eats small fish, tadpoles and insects. Characteristics : It lives in fresh water with vegetation. The great diving beetle is found in Europe, England and Asia. |
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Limnea |
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Scientific Name : Lymnaea stagnalis. Height : It is 60 mm long. Longevity :Years. Description : Soft water snail .It hasn't got capping. Its breathing is aerial : it has got lungs.It is a hermaphrodite: it is a male animal and a female animal together. It lays eggs. Food : It feeds on aquatic plants. Feature: It lives on the soft water and it moves slowly but surely.It absorbs some calcium which dissolves in the water to build its shell. |
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Plant Plankton |
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Description : the plant plankton or phytoplankton (from the Greek "phuton" meaning plant) is a small organism unable to swim against the current. Food : the plant plankton is mainly found in the upper layers of the sea (0 to 15 cm deep),where it carries out its photosynthesis.This means it absorbs mineral salts and carbon dioxide and realeases oxygen under the action of light. Characteristics : it lives in soft,brackish or salty water, mostly in suspension. |
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Animal plankton |
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Description : the animal plankton, or zooplankton (from the greek "zoio" meaning animal)is a small organism unfit of fighting against the current. Food : it feeds on living matter . Some species are herbivorous and others carnivorous. Characteristics : like the phytoplankton,it lives in soft, brackish or salty water.It goes to the surface at night to feed on phytoplakton and goes back towards deeper waters in the daytime. |
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Water flea
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Scientific name : Gammarus Pulex (Freshwater shrimp) Size :The adult Gammarus Pulex measures 11 mm. The males are about 20 mm big. Longevity :The cycle of the Gammarus Pulex is complex . Description : Small rigid shell which covers the head and thorax.Two pairs of large antennas on its head.Seven pairs of legs on the thorax , three pairs of legs on the abdomen. Food :The gammarus Pulex eats litlle organic debris and plants. Characteristics :They can be found especially in the rivers behind stones and around plants. They breed fast and there are two generations a year . |
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The
roach |
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Scientific name : Rutilus rutilus Size : It can mesure 15 to 30 cms. Longevity : It can live 10 to 15 years. Description : The roach has fins of orange colour that vary,as the iris of our eye. It is covered with scales. It breeds easily. Punter: 150000 - 200000 eggs. Food : Small molluscs, grubs of insects, worms, seaweed and surface insects. Characteristics :This fish adapts very well to all plans of water and lives well with other fresh water fish. |
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The pike |
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Scientific name : Esox Lucius Size : It is 50 to 70 centimeteres tall. Longevity : The male pike can live during 50 years and a female pike has a longevity of 30 years. Description : The flank and the back of the pike are yellowish or greenish. It weighs 2 to 5 kilograms. It has got a dorsal fin, that makes it very fast. It has 700 sharp teeth and 6 fins. Food : The Pike eats frogs and sometimes roaches, it is a powerful predator. Characteristics : It has 5 sensory pores on its head. It lives in lakes, pools, rivers and rocky waters.It hides in weeds. |
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Firefly grub |
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Scientific name : Ephemeroptera Size : It can measure up to 5 cms Longevity : It can live up to3 years Description : It has 6 legs: 2 small front legs and 4 hind legs. It has 3 gills by which it breathes. Food : It is carnivorous : it eats worms, small fishes, and insects. Characteristics :It lives in lakes, ponds, swamps and peat bogs. It does not cross the stage of chrysalis. It is brown and green. |
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The larva of the chironome |
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Scientific name : chironomidae Size : About 1 cm long Description : Worm of red colour living in the mud. It is the embryonic form of a mosquito Food : Organic matter present in the mud. Characteristics : It proliferates in the polluted rivers where organic matter a abundant. |
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The tadpole |
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Scientific name : Rana Size: 2 to 4 cm Description : It has a big head, it breathes with internal and external gills.It doesn't have legs but it has a swimming tail. Diet : Many tadpoles are herbivorous, they eat seaweed and plants.Several species become carnivorous if the conditions are hard. Charactéristics : During his cycle, it tansforms into a frog. |
