Pond Succession EarthCache
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2. All questions completely/thoughtfully answered.
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Cattaraugus County
Enjoy the wonders that abound within these Enchanted Mountains.
EARTHCACHE REQUIREMENTS
Each cacher must send his/her own answers BEFORE logging a find. Enjoy the journey (learning adventure) as well as the destination (smiley earned). Remember to take only pictures and leave only footprints. To get credit for this Earthcache, complete the following tasks:
1. MESSAGE :-) or EMAIL …. As you walk along the path, count the number of interconnected ponds you see.
2. MESSAGE :-) or EMAIL …. Choose three ponds along the path … Beginning (N 42° 05.327 W 078° 33.702) / Middle / End (N 42° 05.373 W 078° 33.389). Based on the plants you observe and the descriptions of pond succession given above, what stage of succession are each of these ponds?
3. MESSAGE :-) or EMAIL …. Using the topographic map, what is the highest elevation to the south of the ponds?
OPTIONAL - Please respect the time and effort involved in finding and creating this earthcache by adding A B C to your log.
A. Post a picture at or near the posted coords. This picture is your log signature verifying that you were at the earthcache.
B. JOURNEY OF THE MIND ... Science explains what we observe. Relate (in your own words) something you found interesting in the reading. This adds to your learning adventure and your log.
C. JOURNEY OF THE HEART ... Art shares our personal experience of what we see. Share something special you found on site, and why it is special to you ... prose / story / poem / picture. This is a memorable addition to your log and will make other hearts smile.
POND SUCCESSION
Ponds are relatively shallow holes where water collects. If left alone, however, ponds will fill in with dirt and debris until they become land. It often takes hundreds of years for a pond to be transformed from a body of open water into soil.
STAGES OF POND SUCCESSION
1) Open Water - Microscopic plants (phytoplankton) and animals (zooplankton) inhabit the open water. As a pond develops, seeds are flown in by birds and land animals that come to inhabit the pond. These are the pond pioneers.
2) Submergents - As more creatures arrive, the debris on the bottom increases. Because light penetrates all the way to the bottom, plants can grow. Pondweed, and other submergent vegetation appears and soon grow all along the bottom.. The rooted floating plants are rooted in the bottom and their leaves float on the surface. (example - pond lilies) As the plants die and sediment washes in from the surrounding land the lake (pond) fills in.
3) Emergents - Emergents then appear on the edges of the pond. Emergent plants have roots under water, while part of their bodies resides above the water line. These plants grow in very shallow water. (examples - cattails, rushes, sedges ) Over time, sometimes hundreds of years, as pond plants grow, die and decompose, layers of debris build up. These layers of decaying matter raise the pond floor over the years.
4) Marsh - After some time, the pond floor is close enough to the bottom that emergents can grow all the way across the floor. When this happens, the ponds become a marsh. Many interesting creatures can reside in the shallow muddy waters of marshes.
5) Swamp - The marsh continues to fill in with dirt and debris. Eventually trees grow in the water. It is now a swamp.
6) Land - Over time, the swamp may dry out. Succession of an open field now takes place (grasses and weeds, bushes, softwood trees, finally hardwood trees). The climax community will depend on the biome the lake (pond) was in. Thus, land that was once a pond, may eventually become a forest or grassland.
BIRCH RUN PONDS
Birch Run Ponds, formerly known as Carp Ponds, are a State Developed Pond Area. The construction of 17/I86 resulted in draining much of the wetlands and ponds. This site was developed to restore some of the lost habitat as well as provide a fishing area. These ponds were developed in the early 80s and vary in depths from 6’ to 1’ as you walk upstream beginning at the main pond. The pond off the fishing dock was recently dredged and is approximately 12’ deep. A handicapped-accessible fishing dock (100’ long) is located off Lower Birch Run Road to provide access to the mitigation ponds. Fish found include carp, panfish, some northern pike and some bass. A blacktop walking path extends between the interconnected ponds providing individuals a view of wildlife and birds, as well as a glimpse into the beginning stages of pond succession.
Topographic maps reveal the lowlands occur at 1400’ and are dotted with natural ponds. The Allegany River flows through this valley. Hills to the north rise to 2025’ and to the south they rise to ???
RESOURCES
http://www.mbgnet.net/fresh/lakes/success.htm
gbn.glenbrook.k12.il.us/academics/science/staff/biology/Ecology/Succession.html
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