Plants and animals ponds. Animals of fresh water bodies

The animal world of reservoirs is divided into two main groups according to its habitat. The first is zooplankton, and the second is benthos. Zooplankton lives directly in the water column, and benthos inhabit the bottom of the reservoir. Individual groups form organisms that live on certain objects, underwater plants, and also fish. So, plants and animals of water bodies - what are they?

Plants

They inhabited the entire water environment. In lakes and streams, in ponds and ducts, the most diverse representatives of the world of flora grow and reproduce. For millions of years of their evolution, they have perfectly adapted to the conditions in the reservoirs. Some of them are completely immersed in water, while others are growing above its surface. Some of them generally live on the boundary between water, land and air. Let's talk about the most famous of them.

Air marsh

It forms large thickets in shallow water. Its leaves are powerful and have a xiphoid shape. They reach a length of up to 1.5 meters. Ayr marsh has a long rhizome covered with traces from dead leaves. These rhizomes are a known cure for certain diseases. Use it in cooking (spices), and in cosmetics.

Bulrush

This plant focuses on marshy beaches. Its rhizome is creeping and has a hollow interior. A thick stalk of a cylindrical shape rises to a height of up to 2 meters. It is crowned with characteristic spikelets of brown color, collected in a panicle. Short and hard leaves are located in the lower part of the cane stalk. The thickets of this plant sometimes impassable wall surround the reservoir, representing its inhabitants a reliable shelter.

Water lily

This plant is rarely seen in flowing waters. Basically, it grows on marshes, ponds, in creeks and old men. Its powerful rhizome has strong accessory roots, and oval leaves, sitting on long petioles, float on the water. One of the most beautiful water plants is the white water lily. It is her devoted a lot of poetic works and legends.

Its ecosystem

As you know, living conditions in water bodies of different types are also different. That is why the species composition of the animals living in flowing waters differs significantly from the animal world, which settled exclusively in stagnant water. In the framework of this article, we certainly can not describe all the diversity of this fauna, but we note the main groups of animals inhabiting such water bodies.

Zooplankton

These are the most popular animals living in water bodies. The term "zooplankton" is commonly referred to as the simplest microorganisms: infusoria, amoebae, flagellum, and cornery. They serve as food for fry and other small aquatic animals. These organisms are small enough in size, they can not be seen with the human eye, since a microscope is needed for this. Let's consider them on an example of an amoeba.

Amoeba vulgaris

This creation is known to every person who reached the school age. Amoeba are animal reservoirs (photo in the article), who are convinced single-celled loners. You can find these creations almost everywhere, where there is water and particles suitable for food: bacteria, small relatives, dead organics.

Amoeba, or kornenozhki, - beings are not fastidious. They live in lakes and seas, creep along aquatic plants. Sometimes they settle in the intestines of vertebrates. Amoeba also have their overseas relatives. This is the so-called foraminifera. They inhabit exclusively the sea waters.

Rancid crustaceans

The zooplankton of stagnant waters is represented mainly by so-called branching fleecy crustaceans. These creatures look like this. Their shortened body is enclosed in a test consisting of two valves. Their head is covered from above with a shell, to which are attached two pairs of special antennae. The back tendrils of these crustaceans are well developed and play the role of fins.

Each such antennae is divided into two branches with dense pinnate setae. They serve to increase the surface of the swimming organs. On their body under the shell is located up to 6 pairs of swimming legs. Branched crustaceans are typical animals of water bodies, their sizes do not exceed and 5 millimeters. These creatures are an indispensable part of the ecosystem of the reservoir, because they are food for young fish. So, let's move on to the fish.

Pike

Pike and its victims (the fish that it feeds on) are freshwater animals. This is a typical predator, widespread in our country. Like other organisms, pikes at different stages of their development eat in different ways. Their fry, just hatched from eggs, live directly in shallow water, in shallow coves. It is these waters that are rich in their ecosystem.

Here the pike fry begin to eat intensively on the very crustaceans and the simplest microorganisms, of which we spoke above. Within two weeks the fry grow into larvae of insects, leeches and worms. Plants and animal reservoirs of our country in different regions are different. We are talking to the fact that not long ago ichthyologists discovered an interesting feature: the squinters living in the middle zone of Russia, already from the age of two months give their preference to young perch and roach.

From this time, the diet of the young pike begins to expand noticeably. She gladly eats tadpoles, frogs, large fish (sometimes larger than herself twice!) And even small birds. Sometimes pikes are engaged in cannibalism: they eat their fellow men. It should be noted that fish and zooplankton are not the only animals living in water bodies. Consider and their other inhabitants.

Spider-Silver

Its second name is the water spider. It is a spider-like creature throughout Europe that differs from its congeners in swimming bristles on its hind legs and with three claws on it. His name he earned by the fact that his belly under the water glows silver. The spider does not sink due to a special water-repellent agent. You can meet him in standing or slowly flowing waters.

The spider-silkworm feeds by a variety of small animals, which are entangled in the threads of its underwater spider web. Sometimes he himself catches prey. If his catch was more than usual, the surplus he carefully manages in his underwater nest. By the way, the spider does its nest by attaching threads to underwater objects. It is open to the bottom, the water spider fills it with air, turning it into a so-called diving bell.

Ordinary pondweed

Animals that live in water bodies are in many respects known to us through the school textbook of zoology. Here is an ordinary pond is not an exception. These large snails belong to pulmonary mollusks. They live throughout Europe, Asia, North America and Africa. In Russia there is the largest species of pond water. The size of this cochlea is variable, because it depends entirely on certain conditions of existence.

His "house" is a single shell with one single hole at the bottom. As a rule, it is twisted in a spiral for 5-7 turns and widens downwards. Inside the shell is a fleshy mucous body. From time to time it protrudes outward, forming a head from above and a broad and flat foot from below. With this foot, the pond snake slides over plants and underwater objects, as if on a ski.

We did not in vain notice that ordinary pond food refers to pulmonary mollusks. The matter is that these animals of fresh water bodies breathe atmospheric air, as well as we are with you. Proudoviks with their "feet" stick to the underside of the water diaper, open their breathing hole, gaining air. No, they have no lungs, under the skin they have a so-called pulmonary cavity. It is in it that the collected air is stored and consumed.

Frogs and toads

Animals of water bodies are not limited only to microorganisms, snails and other small invertebrate creatures. Along with fish in lakes and ponds, you can see amphibians - frogs and toads. Their tadpoles swim almost all summer in fresh water reservoirs . In the spring of the amphibian, concerts are arranged: they use their resonator bags to bawl around the whole area, laying eggs in the water.

Reptiles

If we talk about which animal reservoirs belong to the reptiles, then, unquestionably, there can be noted a common horror. His whole way of life is directly connected with the search for food. He hunts for frogs. For man, these snakes do not present any harm. Unfortunately, many ignorant people kill snakes, taking them for poisonous snakes. Because of this, the number of these animals is markedly reduced. Another water reptile is, for example, the red-bellied turtle. It is her keep in terrariums amateur naturalists.

Birds

Plants and animal reservoirs are in many respects interconnected with each other, because the first protect the second! This is particularly evident in the case of birds. The gravitation of the birds to the ponds is largely due to the high feed capacity of these places, as well as to the excellent protective conditions (reeds and sedge make birds invisible). The bulk of these animals is based on anseriformes (geese, ducks, swans), passerine, copepods, grebe-shaped, cirrus and Charadriiform birds.

Mammals

Where without them! Representatives of this class of animals have embraced the entire globe, spreading everywhere wherever possible: in the air (bats), in the water (whales, dolphins), on the ground (tigers, elephants, giraffes, dogs, cats), underground (shrews , Moles). Despite this, there are not so many mammals associated with fresh and standing waters on the territory of our country.

Some of them spend practically their whole lives in the reservoirs, without departing from them a single step (muskrat, caress, otter, muskrat, beaver), while others prefer not to stay in the water, but next to it (water voles). In such animals, there are well developed swimming membranes between the paws of the paws, and in the ears and nostrils there are special valves that plug these vital holes when the animal is immersed in water.