Ponds

A Wirral Discovery Pack exploring pond life and adaptations.

Wirral Ranger Service contacts.

Wirral Country Park - Tel: 0151 648 4371/3884 Email - [email protected]

Ranger Service website: www.wirral.gov.uk/er

Parks and Open WIRRAL Spaces Section Contents

1. Front Page 2. Contents 3. How to pond dip 4. Do’s and don’ts 5. Freshwater identification sheet 6. Amphibians - identification and habitats, frogs and toads 7. Amphibians - identification and habitats, newts 8. Amphibians - life cycles 9. Amphibians - amazing facts 10. Invertebrates - life cycles 11. Adaptations - breathing, invertebrates 12. Adaptations - movement 13. Adaptations - feeding, and amphibians 14. Adaptations - feeding, invertebrates 15. Threats 16. Physical conditions 17. Foodchains 18. Foodweb 19. Plants 20. Sustainability

How to use this pack: This pack is designed to be used as a resource by students, teachers and all those interested in ponds. Please feel free to print and photocopy any part you need. Wirral Parks and Open Spaces Section Ponds - How to pond dip

Equipment you will need

Pond net with a fine White plastic tray mesh filled with pond water

Microspector - a clear plastic Pond identification key container with a magnifyer on top

Pond dipping method

1.Holding the net vertically sweep it through the water in a figure of eight shape. Try not to disturb the mud at the bottom of the pond

2. Sweep the net through the vegetation to dislodge any which might be hiding there.

3. Bring the net out of the water and put the contents into the plastic tray filled with pond water. Turn the net inside out in the water and poke out the corners to ensure all creatures caught fall into the tray. Sort through any pond weed which might have collected to carefully remove any creatures into the tray but put most of the weed back in the net and return it to the pond straight away. 5. Using the identification key find out what has been caught. Try to find out more information about the pond life in the pond from pond information packs, books and leaflets.

4. Do not leave pond weed on the ground. A small amount of pond weed may be left in the tray to provide some cover for the creatures to hide among. Adults and older careful children may use a spoon to gently catch a creature and put it into a microspector for clear inspection. Small children should not be allowed to do this as damage can be caused to the creatures through lack of care. Wirral Parks and Open Spaces Section Ponds - Do’s and don’ts

Do wear waterproof plasters to cover any Do dip from the safety of a cuts. Wash your hands bank or dipping platform. carefully after pond dipping.

Don’t hurt any living creatures.

Don’t wade into a pond it may be very deep, or have sharp objects in it. Don’t lean out over the pond when dipping or you could fall in.

Don’t leave the tray of pond creatures in the sun for too long they will overheat.

Don’t run along the Do make sure all the edge of the pond. You creatures are returned could fall in. safely to the pond after you have finished.

Do be careful not to prod others with your nets.

Wirral Parks and Open Spaces Section Ponds - freshwater ID sheet

Worms -simple soft bodied Molluscs - animals with soft muscular Crustaceans - animals with more than animals with no limbs. bodies and a hard shell. eight legs, segmented bodies and a hard Great pond exoskeleton. snail Flatworm Cyclops (microscopic) Leech Water flea Pea cockle (microscopic)

Ramshorn snail

Water shrimp Wandering snail

Insects - animals with six legs and three body sections. Fish louse Waterlouse Bloodworm Dragonfly nymph Phantom midge larva (darter)

Mosquito larva Great diving larva

Gnat pupae Alderfly nymph Damselfly Dragonfly nymph Mayfly nymph nymph (hawker) Caddisfly larva

Great diving beetle Water scorpion

Greater water boatman Lesser water boatman or backswimmer. Pond skater

Arachnids - have eight legs Amphibians -animals which live mostly on land but return to water to Water mite breed. (red)

Tadpole (Frog tadpoles are brown and speckled, toad Pisces - fish tadpoles are black and shiny.) Smooth newt

Three spined stickleback Froglet Newt tadpole (eft) Wirral Parks and Open Spaces Section Ponds - Amphibians

Identification and habitats - frogs and toads Common frogs Identification - they have a smooth moist skin which is variable in colour. They are often brown or grey with darker blobs, but are sometimes more colourful in shades of yellow or orange. All frogs have a distinct brown patch behind each eye which actually surrounds the ear drum and is not present in toads. Frog noses are more pointed than that of toads and the hump on the back is more pronounced. When disturbed frogs will leap away to safety and sometimes if they are alarmed they utter a weird shriek. Habitats In summer they are often found in long grass. Habitats include, open pasture, woodland edge and gardens. Frogs like pools with shallow edges to lay their spawn in preferably without fish since these will eat most of their tadpoles. Frogs choose their breeding ponds on the basis of which type of algae is growing in them as this is their tadpoles main food source. Status Common frogs are found throughout Britain and Northern Europe. The only protection given to common frogs is that it is illegal to sell them. Common toads Identification - they are plump warty creatures with uniform brown grey background colours. They tend to waddle or crawl along although they can make a few feeble hops. They have short back legs when compared with a frog. Habitats Toads are usually found under things such as logs and stones. They are more fussy than the frog in their choice of breeding pools. Toads prefer deeper pools Status and do not mind the presence of fish as their tadpoles are equipped early in life Widespread distribution in with a range of unpleasant tasting poisons that quickly persuade fish to leave Britain, Europe and across them alone. Asia. The only protection Natterjack toads afforded common toads is that Identification - they are small warty toads it is illegal to sell them. with pale skin and a distinctive yellow stripe which runs the length of the body from snout to vent. The function of this stripe is not precisely known but it could be for Habitats camouflage. They have short back legs and They live in sandy places under rubbish or in little burrows. get around by running. Males have loud Natterjacks only come to water to breed and they like very voices which can be heard up to a mile away. shallow sandy bottomed pools with hardly any vegetation. Status These pools heat up quickly which speeds up metamorphosis, Natterjack toads are rare and specially but it also means that they dry up easily which can lead to protected. They only occur in sand dunes in mass tadpole death. North West England and south west Scotland, with smaller colonies in East Anglia and southern England. Wirral Parks and Open Spaces Section Ponds - Amphibians

Identification and habitats - newts

Habitats Newts tend to prefer deep ponds with more vegetation in them as they lay their eggs on the underside of leaves. They do not like ponds which have fish as their tadpoles are easy prey. Newts only require the pond for breeding purposes, preferring to spend most of their time hiding in long grass or hiding beneath stones and logs. On damp nights they come out to hunt worms, slugs and other minibeasts. During the winter, newts can be found under stones and logs and in other damp sheltered places. They are not fully hibernating for if a period of warmer weather occurs they can venture out and find food. Newts are sometimes mistaken for lizards because they are found primarily on dry land. Status Smooth newts have no special protection afforded to them, although it is illegal to sell live or dead specimens. Great crested newts have full protection from the Wildlife and Countryside Act whereby their habitat may not be disturbed or damaged. They may not be intentionally killed, injured or taken from their habitats. It is also illegal to sell or to be in possession of any live or dead specimens

Identification Smooth Newts are about 75mm long. They have yellow/orange bellies with a number of dark spots. In the breeding season, males have a continuous high wavy crest on their back and tail. Their fingers and toes are not webbed. Female smooth newts are very different in appearance to the males and they never have a crest and are usually duller in colour. These newts are entirely carnivorous and eat anything from water shrimps to frog tadpoles. Identification Great Crested Newts are much bigger than the other species of newts at 150mm in length and are more heavily built. They have warty skins which produce poisons just like in toads. The adult is dark in colour and from above looks almost black when in the water. Underneath both sexes are beautifully marked with yellow- orange and black blotches. Males have high jagged crests on their back. This crest is not continuous as it dips towards the end of the body by the start of the tail. There is a silver stripe along their tail and tiny white spots can be seen on their backs.

Wirral Parks and Open Spaces Section Ponds -Amphibians

Life cycles Frogs and toads

1. Spawning takes place between 2. Tadpoles are formed inside March and April. 3. Newly hatched tadpoles are the egg attached to plants by sticky slime from a gland. 4. Tadpoles swim Jelly freely and feed by

Empty jelly like sucking decaying leaves and stems egg cases Gland

Developing tadpole Gills for breathing grow

5. Jaws with horny teeth grow 6. Tadpoles come to the surface to breathe air and the tadpole begins to eat through their mouths when their lungs grow. small animals as well as 7. Tail disappears and the small plants. A flap of skin grows frog leaves the water. (June-July) back over the gills.

Back legs begin to grow Front legs appear

Toads - follow the same life cycle except they produce jelly strings, instead of balls for their tadpoles to develop in.

Newts Newt tadpoles feed on water fleas and very small worms

2. Tadpole formed 1. Egg inside egg 3. Gills for breathing grow 4. Front legs grow

6. When the gills have been replaced with lungs the young newts leave the water (mid-August).

5. Back legs grow

Wirral Parks and Open Spaces Section Ponds - Amphibians

Amazing facts

Adult frogs have teeth! A frightened toad will expel All tadpoles have tiny teeth water onto your hand if for scraping food off sticky you pick it up. surfaces.

Frogs and toads have a powerful sense of smell and find their way to their breeding pond following its distinctive smell borne on the wind.

Amphibians breathe through their skin whilst underwater and gulp air into their lungs when Frogs and toads use their they are on land. eyes to help them swallow prey. They retract their eyeballs back into their head which presses the food down to their stomachs.

Toads have large long warts behind their eyes called parotid glands. These contain powerful Male frogs hibernate in the poisons to deter predators. bottom of the pond, whereas female frogs toads and newts are likely to hibernate together in a place free from frost called an hibernaculum.

Wirral Parks and Open Spaces Section Ponds - invertebrates

Life cycles The life cycles of most pond life involves various growth stages where the young often do not resemble the adult until the final growth stage. All animals that live in fresh water hatch from eggs. The young which at first do not look like their parents, are called larvae. Larvae eat a great deal of food and grow quickly, they shed their skins every time that they grow too big for them. When the larva is full grown it changes into a pupa. During this stage it changes into an adult, when the change is complete the pupal skin bursts and the adult emerges.

Growth through larval stages and complete metamorphosis(change) to adult eg. Diving beetle

The diving beetle larva grows by a series of moults and does not resemble the adult.

After its final moult the larva goes into a pupal When metamorphosis is stage. complete the skin splits and the adult emerges.

Growth where the young resemble the adult throughout the lifecycle eg. Leeches

The adult leech lays a cocoon of jelly containing eggs. These hatch out as little tiny leeches which closely resemble the adult. Snail leeches such as the one in the diagram brood their young the young cling to the adult after they have hatched.

Growth where the young as the nymph stage resemble the adult (only without wings ) and undergo a final metamorphosis to the final adult stage to complete the life cycle . eg. Dragonflies and damselflies

Very young nymph Wing buds start to grow Nymph after several moults with wing buds

During the final growth stage the nymph will crawl out of the water up the stem of a pond plant. There it remains until it develops into the adult and breaks out of the old skin. With its wings fully developed it can now begin its life out of the pond, hunting to feed upon. Wirral Parks and Open Spaces Section Ponds - Adaptations

Breathing - invertebrates Animals who live part or all of their lives in water need to have methods for gaining the dissolved oxygen directly from the water or to collect oxygen from the air. All animals need oxygen to combine with digested food in their bodies to provide energy for movement and growth. The food is changed into carbon dioxide and water which are breathed out. Pond Snail Breathing hole Absorption through the skin - Phantom shell covering flat tentacle most of the snails midge larvae and leeches gain their oxygen body directly from the water by this method. Eye

Mouth lining that makes new shell flat muscular foot Collecting air from the surface - Most breathe by coming to tip of abdomen breaks the surface of the water to collect a surface film to collect air Lungs - Pond snails breathe air by coming bubble of air over their hairy bodies up to the surface of the water. They open and under their wings. The larvae of their breathing holes through the surface beetles collect air by breaking the film, expel the stale air from the lung cavity surface with tail filaments. The air hairy legs with a plopping sound , and collect fresh passes into air tubes in the body aid swimming air. They close the opening before through holes called spiracles. returning under water. Diving Beetle

Water scorpions have long tail filaments Water which form a breathing tube, they use Scorpion this to break the water surface and Breathing tube collect air. Mosquito larvae breathe directly through the spiracles whilst they hang from the water surface.

Gills - Fresh water shrimps breath through gills attached to the top of their legs. Their legs can be seen constantly moving to ensure a good supply of fresh oxygenated water. Antennae Fish breathe by taking oxygen from the water. As the fish opens and closes its mouth it takes in water, but instead of swallowing it, it pushes it over the gills and out over the gill covers. Gills of fish, and tadpoles have blood capillaries (very small blood vessels) and are called vascular gills. Blood corpuscles (cells) flowing Many tracheal gills for breathing in through the capillaries collect oxygen from the water. stagnant water Gills of insects are called tracheal gills, these have air tubes which collect oxygen from the water. Damselfly nymphs have leaf like gills at their tail for breathing whereas Mayfly Nymph mayfly nymphs have many visible gills aligned along their body length.

Wirral Parks and Open Spaces Section Ponds - Adaptations

Movement

Pond animals move about using a wide variety of methods. This governs their position within the pond ie, open water, mud or vegetation. Their movements also have feeding implications; fast movers tend to be predators who chase their prey, whereas a variety of ways are employed to avoid predation such as swimming away very quickly, camouflage, a hard shell for protection or hiding amongst vegetation. Surface walkers - pond skaters Wrigglers - these long thin and water measurers skim over the animals like midge larvae, surface of the still water. The tiny bloodworm and mosquito larvae hairs on their feet maintain the Caddis fly move with quick wriggling jerks surface tension preventing their feet nymph and they feed by filtering food from slipping under the surface. from the water. The wide spread of their legs and the slim body ensures stability at the surface of the water. Crawlers - Animals such as These carnivores whizz caddisfly larvae and waterlice about searching for crawl about in the debris at the Phantom midge larva animals which have bottom of the pond eating detritus fallen onto the surface material. of the pond. Pond skater Swimmers - torpedo shaped fish move quickly though the water using pectoral fins to change direction. Fish make curving movements using Statics - these remain their muscles in the body and tail in order to stationary in the pond move through the water. filter feeding from the Water boatmen swim using long hairy paddle water around them. A shaped legs. They can even fly from pond to chironomid larva pond at night. There are two types of water builds a tube at the boatmen, greater water boatmen swim upside bottom of the pond in down and are also known as backswimmers. mud or attached to a Their backs are silvery in colour to camouflage leaf. The swan mussel against the sky whereas their bellies are often buries itself in the soft green or brown coloured so that camouflage is mud and is protected still maintained looking at them from above the by its hard shell. It is Swan mussel water surface. They are carnivores using their capable of moving to camouflage to sneak up on prey. Lesser water a new location if Water boatman boatmen swim the right way up and are also necessary. smaller. They feed on detritus on the pond bottom. Gliders - Pond snails, and ramshorn snails move about by gliding along on their soft muscular foot. Movement is slow but they are afforded some protection by having a shell to retreat into. Most are herbivores and spend their time grazing on vegetation however the Pond snail great pond snail is a carnivore. Wirral Parks and Open Spaces Section Ponds - Adaptations

Feeding - fish and amphibians

Sticklebacks have large eyes and a streamlined body to enable them to move through the water and locate their prey. They are carnivores which eat living creatures smaller than themselves such as tadpoles and invertebrates.

Young tadpoles are vegetarian grazers By the time the front legs develop they become carnivores.

Adult frogs and toads are predators which catch live invertebrates such as flies, slugs and ants. They are equipped with long sticky tongues which reach out and grab their prey to bring it back into their mouths for swallowing.

Both adult and tadpole newts are carnivorous and they eat things such as water shrimps, small worms and frog tadpoles.

Wirral Parks and Open Spaces Section Ponds - Adaptations

Feeding - Invertebrates

Examples of detritivores are

Detritivores - these are animals which feed on the lesser water waste matter which has fallen to the bottom of the boatman water louse pond such as rotten vegetation. They do a good job of recycling this material.

sshrimp

Herbivores - these animals feed only on plant material such as pond weed. Consequently these animals move about the vegetation and need special adaptation to avoid predation. Examples of herbivores are; snails, caddisfly larva and mayfly nymphs.

The pond snail has a radula which acts like a rasp for scraping off vegetation. It has a hard shell for protection.

The caddisfly larva builds itself a camouflaged case made of either leaves or The mayfly nymph is green small stones held together by silken thread. in colour which gives it It crawls around the bottom of the pond superb camouflage whilst chewing on leaves and plant material swimming about amongst retreating into its case when disturbed. the vegetation on which it feeds.

Omnivores - these creatures eat both plants and animals. An example of which is the tiny pea mussel.

Carnivores - these animals actively predate upon other animals. They have specific adaptations to perform this task Great diving beetle larvae have huge which may include fast methods of locomotion in order to piercing jaws to entrap prey and can lunge forward by jet propulsion to catch prey. Some have large jaws or graspers to catch hold of seize prey by surprise. the victim.

Dragonfly nymph -these have large eyes to locate prey and can move swiftly to give chase. On the front of the face they have a mask like structure which shoots out and grabs its living victim.

Wirral Parks and Open Spaces Section Ponds - Threats

Pollution - often leading to eutrophication which is an Water abstraction - enrichment of the water drainage of the land causing excessive plant causes a lowering of the growth and algal blooms. water table causing ponds to permanently dry out.

Dense shading - by over hanging bushes and trees. This reduces plant growth and causes problems with Over tidying of pond accumulated leaf litter. margins - reduces habitat diversity resulting in scarcity of wildfowl nesting sites and poor dragonfly fauna.

Disturbance - due to fishing and other recreational use. This reduces the wildlife interest.

Introduced species - detract from the native wildlife interest and some can become pests.

Wirral Parks and Open Spaces Section Ponds - Physical conditions

The following factors all affect life in freshwater ponds.

Oxygen content - all living things both plant and need oxygen for the process of respiration. Oxygen is present in water in a dissolved form. Plants in the water give off oxygen as a by product of photosynthesis, although the reverse is true at night time when plants use the oxygen to respire. Too much decomposing organic matter at the bottom of the pond also depletes oxygen. Therefore levels are subject to fluctuation.

Density - water is over 700 times heavier than air. The buoyancy of water offers support to aquatic animals and plants. The water however offers resistance to movement so animals need to be streamlined.

Transparency - this will affect the depth to which light can penetrate and allow photosynthesis.

Temperature - Ponds warm up slowly and cool slowly. This means that fluctuations in temperature are not as great as they are in air. Most pond animals do not have mechanisms for coping with drastic changes in temperature. A rise in temperature also causes a drop in dissolved oxygen content.

Chemical content - water is a universal solvent and natural waters are dilute solutions of salts and gases. Abundant nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous are available for plant growth and calcium and silicon are available for the development of molluscs, crustaceans and diatoms. An over abundance of nutrients can lead to algal blooms which deplete oxygen levels and lead to the destruction of the pond (eutrophication).

Impermanence - all freshwater habitats change over time. In ponds, marginal plants will encroach into the water until a marsh or swamp is formed. This process is gradual but some ponds dry up almost annually and in the short term this could have a detrimental effect on the plants and animals.

Wirral Parks and Open Spaces Section Ponds - Foodchains

Pond plants use the Great diving beetles feed suns energy to grow. on insect life in the pond, such as water fleas.

The sun is the Newt tadpoles feed Water fleas feed on on insects such as source of all energy green plants. for all living. diving beetles. A Food Chain The suns energy gets passed along at each level from the plant all the way up to the heron. Perch feed on insects and other pond creatures The heron is a large such as newt predator that feeds on tadpoles. fish and amphibians.

Herbivores - eat plants Carnivores - eat other animals. Scavengers or detritivores - eat dead plants and animals.

Food web

This shows some of the different plants and animals living in a pond and who eats who. A food web is very complicated and it gives us an idea that all the living things in the pond depend on another for survival.

Wirral Parks and Open Spaces Section Ponds - Foodweb

Heron

Perch

Man

Water beetle Leech

Carp Mosquito larva

Frog

Dragonfly larva

Stickleback

Mayfly larva

Worm Bitterling

Caddisfly larva

Waterlouse

Molluscs Freshwater shrimp

Zooplankton Water plants Duck

Phytoplankton

Detritus Epiphytes

Wirral Parks and Open Spaces Section Ponds - Plants

Cross section of a pond

Floating plant zone

Edge or bank zone

Deep water zone Shallow water zone

Deep water zone: plants in this zone provide oxygen which dissolves in the water. These submerged plants include water milfoil. These plants provide hiding places for aquatic invertebrates.

Shallow water zone: plants which grow here have their roots in the mud at the bottom of the pond and their leaves grow up through the water and above the surface. These plants are used by nymphs of dragonflies and damselflies, they crawl up the plant stems in order to leave the water and metamorphose into the adult form. Plants in this zone include common reed and reedmace.

Pond edge: plants grow in the damp mud where froglets and toadlets lurk. Plants include flag iris and water mint.

Floating plant zone: plants collect their nutrients straight from the water. Plants such as duck weed live here.

Wirral Parks and Open Spaces Section Ponds - Sustainability

In the past, ponds in Wirral were created through a variety of methods; the need to extract marl for soil improvement brought about the creation of pits which became waterlogged. Farms often had man made ponds as a water supply for livestock. They were sometimes created for keeping fish near to large houses. Ponds also form naturally in areas where the soil lies over impervious rocks or where clay forms a watertight barrier.

Ponds are dynamic habitats, continually changing due to plant succession and the build up of organic matter. This build up over time makes ponds shallower leading to the encroachment across open water of marginal plants. Eventually this reduces the pond to marshy ground and finally a covering of trees.

Managing Wirral’s Ponds If ponds are left unmanaged they go through the process of natural succession as described above. The habitat would eventually be lost and its associated flora and fauna would disappear. In an ideal world new ponds would be formed elsewhere to take its place. But on Wirral demand for land is high and therefore land for wildlife is very restricted and few places are left where ponds can form naturally. So if we want to keep ponds on Wirral we have to manage our existing ones to slow down succession. Management takes the form of; 1.Removal of excess vegetation to create a balance of open water and vegetated margins. This creates a varied and interesting habitat with maximum species diversity. 2. Removal of aggressive non-native species such as Azolla which can choke ponds very quickly as there are no natural inhibitors to its growth. Many of these species have an extremely fast reproductive rate. 3. In some circumstances drastic measures such as the removal of the mud at the bottom of the pond have to be considered due to the build up of organic matter. This should be done before the creatures hibernate for the winter and the mud should be left near to the pond for a few days to allow the creatures to crawl back to the water

What you can do to help ponds Don’t release anything bought from a garden centre or from your ornamental pond (including fish) into wildlife ponds as this proves detrimental to existing wildlife. It is illegal to introduce fish into a pond without a licence. Don’t use wildlife ponds for fishing as any fishing line, weights or bait can cause problems for wildlife. Feed potatoes and carrots to swans and geese rather than bread as bread attracts rats and rots in the bottom of the pond which encourages algae (eutrophication). Plastic bread bags are often left as rubbish causing further problems. Wirral Parks and Open Spaces Section