Pond Habitat Sampling
Half-day Field Trip
Ann Arbor Public Schools Environmental Education
You can find some pretty incredible creatures during a pond dipping in Michigan!
A Water Scorpion is not a scorpion! It is safe to touch.
It has a hollow tube at the end of its abdomen that it uses for breathing.
It uses its front legs to catch its prey.
Clothing
It is important that students are dressed adequately for the field trip in terms of the weather and other conditions. They will be walking trails and surveying a local pond for at least one hour. Students are instructed to remain on the shore, but anticipate that some students will get muddy and/or wet shoes/boots.
Extra Equipment
Extra equipment is not necessary.
Equipment such as binoculars, cameras, etc. can get damaged, wet, lost, etc. Students also tire of carrying extra items in the field.
Bathrooms
Students should use the bathrooms at school prior to departure on the field trip.
Bathrooms are not available at the pond, and require a walk or in some cases bus transport.
However, if you pick up a toad, it might go to the bathroom on you!
Health & Safety Reminders
Follow district health protocols and refer to the symptom checklist if you feel sick before your field trip.
Practice good hand hygiene. Wash your hands when you return to school.
Follow bus expectations. Stay seated and facing forward, with feet out of the aisle and hands inside the window.
Naturalists
Naturalists are community volunteers who lead small groups at the pond.
In general, a single class will be divided into three smaller groups for sampling at the pond. Name tags are helpful for the naturalists. An additional adult (e.g. teacher, student teacher, parent, teacher aid) in each group is helpful to assist with behavior management and safety.
Be polite to your naturalist.
Active listening will help you learn as much as you can from him/her.
Reminder: mud, mud, mud!
Access paths can get very muddy and slippery after heavy rains and stay that way for several days. If you think this might be the case for your trip, encourage your children to wear boots, and bring an extra pair of clothes.
Proper Trail Etiquette Protects Students and Wildlife
Naturalist guides are positioned at the front of students groups. A calm walking pace and quiet voices mean increased opportunities to observe and learn about plants and animals in the area.
Staying on the trail and observing your surroundings protects you and the flora and fauna.
Walking calmly on the trail, behind your naturalist, will help you see more wildlife, and will keep you safe from anything that could present a danger during your trip, such as an encounter with an Eastern Massasagua Rattlesnake.
Students begin learning as soon as they board the bus!
Naturalists discuss proper collection methods, pond habitats, and invertebrate life cycle phases that are dependent on the aquatic environment.
Learning to OBSERVE and make a "best guess" or SCIENTIFIC HYPOTHESIS of what is happening in the field is an important aspect of this trip. Be a nature detective! Use your senses to help you carefully observe in the field, but be careful with taste and touch!
Listen closely and handle the artifacts carefully on the bus.
Be brave! Be a scientist! “Gross!” >>> “How interesting!”
Trip Content
We will be giving students a chance to experience and study local habitats in a natural setting. Our goal is to stimulate children to move beyond their own viewpoint to understand the world from the perspective of other organisms.
We will be looking for aquatic producers, consumers and decomposers.
Trip Content
Collecting, Sorting, and Sharing
Nets are provided. Collected specimens are placed in containers for sorting and identification. Student groups are encouraged to "share" their finds with each other near the end of the trip. Prior to departure, specimens are carefully released back into the pond.
Macroinvertebrate Identification Resources
When they collect a specimen, students consult reference guides and naturalists for identification of the many creatures found in the pond. Specific animal behaviors and adaptations are discussed, as well as the connection between habitat quality and the variety of specimens found.
Key to Life in Pond (Download the file for higher resolution)
Macroinvertebrate Slides with Color Photos
Pond Sampling Reflection
When they return to class, teachers can have students complete a Pond Sampling Reflection, highlighting one organism they found.
While a single occurrence of an organism cannot determine the water quality of a pond, teachers can introduce the idea that macroinvertebrate surveys are used to study the water quality of local bodies of water. You can learn more by visiting the Huron River Watershed Council's website. Every year, local community scientists participate in volunteer surveys to help assess the condition of our watershed!
You can also use this chart as a simple, whole-class activity after the trip to reinforce the concept of water quality indicator species. Best practice is for the teacher to record photos of each organism found during the trip for an accurate review back in the classroom.
Source: Michigan Clean Water Corps
Leopard Frog Green Frog in transition Crayfish with parasites
Examples of organisms found during AAPS Pond Dippings
Tadpoles An emergent dragonfly unfolding its wings Water Scorpion
Examples of organisms found during AAPS Pond Dippings
What’s in a name?
A lot! When studying bugs and insects, the terms "larvae" and "nymph" are often interchanged - but understanding the difference can help with field identification.
Larvae and nymphs are both immature, or "young" versions of the adult insect.
However, larvae undergo complete metamorphosis, whereas nymphs undergo incomplete metamorphosis.
LARVAE - For aquatic insects, the predacious diving beetles provide a great example of the larval stage. The adult female lays eggs along vegetation. The larvae that hatch out of these eggs are called water tigers. They are aggressive predators, but more importantly, they do not look like the adult form. Water tigers will need to go through the pupal stage before emerging as the adult diving beetle.
Just like moths and butterflies, many aquatic insects undergo metamorphosis.
Water Tiger (Larvae) Predacious Diving Beetle (Adult)
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In its nymph form, dragonflies will occupy ponds for one to three years. Watch this VIDEO showing the stunning mechanics of the nymph's lower jaw. The adult dragonfly has its own impressive hunting adaptations, shown in this VIDEO.
The dragonfly lays its eggs along the underside of aquatic plants. However, when the nymphs emerge, they display many characteristics that are identifiable with the adult form. As the nymphs grow larger, they shed their exoskeleton in a process called molting. (They do not undergo a pupal phase.) These molts - sometimes over one dozen! - allow the nymphs to grow larger and larger, with the wing buds becoming more obvious. In the last transition, the nymphs molt to reveal their adult form, including wings. Students are likely to find various stages of dragonfly nymph.
Aquatic nymphs are called "naiads" by entomologists (scientists who study insects).
Crawfish/Crayfish/Crawdads
They are known by many names, and if you see a mound of small mud balls piled up around a hole near the pond, you probably found a crawfish (or crayfish or crawdad) chimney!
Click here to see a video of a crawfish building a chimney.
Click here to read an article about how and why crawfish build chimneys at the mouth of their watery burrows.
Osprey at Olson Pond
Students from Ann Arbor Open headed to Olson Pond to study aquatic habitats and the animals that live in and around the pond. Many insect specimens were collected for study (and then released). Mid-way through the outing, an Osprey flew over head, and dove down to catch a fish! Teacher Denise Chacon Lontin "brings on the birds" - past trips to Olson Pond have included Bald Eagles and Trumpeter Swans. Learn more about the fascinating abilities of the Osprey by clicking this CORNELL page, or for a video, click BBC VIDEO.
Photo credit: National Geographic
Bald Eagles
These majestic raptors can be seen circling overhead. Recent sightings include Olson Pond, where A2 Steam students watched an eagle catch fish from the surface! Perfect connection to the classroom, as these students are studying ways to facilitate successful salmon populations in southeast Michigan. Just a few weeks later, Bach students on a Water Tour watched a bald eagle snatch a snake off the sand beds for lunch! Want to spot an eagle? Look for the enormous wingspan - mature adults will have the distinctive white head and under-tail markings. Nests have been sited, including at Kensington MetroPark. This picture is from Barton Pond, where an eagle stopped by for lunch. Researcher Josh Cohen captured these images as part of a federal monitoring program.
In the Netherlands, bald and golden eagles are trained to intercept drones. They are rewarded for their efforts with a piece of meat. Read the article and watch the video HERE.
Concepts Teachers Can Reinforce in the Classroom
Vocabulary: Aquatic
Biome – a very large area of the world that has unique weather and plants.
Digest
Dissect
Environment – everything that surrounds a living thing.
Evaporation
Generalized – able to do many things for survival in many environments.
Gills
Nymph
Larvae
Metamorphosis
Specialized – able to do a specific function for survival in a specific environment.
Terrestrial
Please visit the Pond Habitat webpage on the EE website for more information.
If you have any questions before your trip, please feel free to email Dave Szczygiel (szczygie@aaps.k12.mi.us) or Coert Ambrosino (ambrosinoc@aaps.k12.mi.us).