Name: Jethro Gervin P.

Geriane Section: Emerald

Name of Biome: Picture/Image of the Biome:

Lakes and Ponds

Description of Biome:

A lake is a large body of fresh water. Lakes can range in

size from small ponds to huge bodies of water such the
Great Lakes in the U.S.
Lakes and rivers are closely tied. Some lakes are the
source for some rivers. Important rivers, most often,
originate from lakes. Some rivers end in lakes.

A pond is a body of water shallow enough to support

rooted plants. Many times plants grow all the way across
a shallow pond.
Water temperature is fairly even from top to bottom and
changes with air temperature. There is little wave action
and the bottom is usually covered with mud. Plants can, Locations around the World:
and often do, grow along the pond edge. The amount of
dissolved oxygen may vary greatly during a day. In really While ponds are small bodies of water surrounded by land, lakes are large
cold places, the entire pond can freeze solid. bodies of freshwater surrounded by land. The freshwater biome covers
roughly 20% of the Earth and 0.8% of the total water on this Earth. Lake
Baikal, in central Asia, is the biggest lake on Earth.

Amount of Precipitation: Temperature range: Type of Soil:

Three distinct layers
10 to 80 inches per year. develop: The top There are three basic types of soil – sand, silt and
layer stays warm at clay. Each one has different properties that affect
around 65–75 degrees how a pond will perform. Every soil is composed of
F (18.8–24.5 degrees these basic types, and the proportions of silt, sand
C). The middle layer and clay will determine just how suitable your soil is
drops dramatically, for a new pond. These soils have large, loose
usually to 45–65 particles.
degrees F (7.4–18.8
degrees C).
Describe the topography of your Biome:

Lakes and ponds are part of the freshwater biome, which typically range in size from as little as a few square yards up to thousands of
square miles. Some ponds can be seasonal, while lakes can generally last thousands of years. Ponds and lakes may have limited species
diversity since they are often isolated from one another and from other water sources like rivers and oceans. Lakes and ponds are divided
into three different “zones”. The littoral zone is located near the shores of lakes and ponds and is home to algae, snails, insects,
crustaceans and amphibians. It is the warmest of the zones since it shallow and can absorb the sun’s heat. The limnetic zone is situated
near the surface in the open water and is populated by plankton, small organisms, and freshwater fish. The profundal zone includes the
deepest waters of lakes and ponds, and is much cooler and denser than the other two zones.
 ABIOTIC FACTORS OF THE BIOME
nutrients
oxygen
pH
temperature
soil
water
Interesting Facts about the Biome:
 Lakes are often isolated places. Interesting animals and plants
may evolve in lakes.
 Man-made lakes are known as reservoirs. People make ponds
too.
 The largest lake in the world is the Caspian Sea in
Kazakhstan. It is over 143,000 square miles in length and
3,363 feet deep.
 Lake Superior is the largest lake in the U.S. and Canada. It is
31,700 square miles and 1,330 feet deep.
 In Scotland, lakes are called “lochs;” hence, the story of the
Loch Ness Monster, rather than the Lake Ness Monster.
Animal adaptations for Biome and why animals need the adaptation
to survive in that Biome:
 Mammals (badgers, otters, mink) live near water and are
capable of swimming to catch their main food source, fish.
 Amphibians and reptiles (toads, frogs, alligators, crocodiles,
salamanders and newts start life underwater as eggs and
tadpoles, and then move to ground as adults.
 Insects such as skaters, water beetles, mosquitoes and
dragonflies can skim over the surface of ponds, playing a
critical role in the food supply for other animals. Some
spiders can actually take a bubble of air with them
underwater.
 Many species of ducks, geese and swans also call the
freshwater biome their home, feeding on a number of
different items including fish, while wading birds such as
herons and egrets wander through the mud shallows
searching for insects.
BIOTIC FACTORS OF THE BIOME
Bullfrog
platypus
Lake trout
Common carp
Coontail
Duckweed
Does your Biome has any endangered animals? If so, what kind?
 Norfolk Hawker
 Great crested newt
 Natterjack toad
 Common frog
Plant adaptations for Biome and why plants need to survive in
that Biome:
 The high density of water provides the support that plants
need and so, especially sub-merged species, have a
minimum of dense fibrous material running through the
stems. This means that the macrophyte will be soft and
fleshy with the water giving the support. To enable them
to be buoyant, leaves like those in lilies have large areas
of air tissue within them and so that the plant can have
gaseous exchange the leaves have stomata on the upper
epidermis rather than the lower surface.

 Roots like any part of a plant needs oxygen for
respiration and with them buried in the mud where there
is anoxic conditions (both toxic and deoxygenated) they
are likely to die. To enable them to respire air will be
drawn in through the leaves and transported to the roots
through air tissue (aerenchyma). The oxygen not only
supplies the root with what it needs but also diffuses out
into the sediment. This will kill the anaerobic bacteria
and reduce the anoxia so that the sediment becomes less
 Manatees have adapted to survive in warm water and migrate problematic for the plant. In so doing the sediment
south. Some have found the warm water near power plants, condition improves for other plants and is an aspect of
and consequently do not have to migrate. succession. See hydrosere.

 Beavers shape their environment more than most other  Leaves of many water macrophytes show a variation in
animal species on Earth shape as they grow. Often the first leaves are narrow.