Nothing expresses summer time more than the whirl of life around a pond. There
is an intensity of competition and predation, but also great beauty among the
intricate web of life that revolves around a small body of water.
The fishing spider lives at the intersection of air and water by running across
the surface tension and also diving under the water to capture tadpoles and
small fish. Dragonflies are completely aerial predators as adults but live as
nymphs underwater. Although relatively primitive insects, they have complex
behavioral patterns governing their reproductive patterns. The eastern pond
hawk illustrates the striking difference in color between the male and female.
One day I caught a pair of green darners in the process of laying eggs with the
male (on right with bluish abdomen) contact guarding the female (holding her
behind her head) while she laid. This insures the male that his sperm will
fertilize the eggs.
Frogs insure their paternity by external fertilization of the eggs as they are
laid. The male bullfrog maintains a territory in part by calling loudly and the
external ear drum of the male is much larger than that of the female, the
better to evaluate the quality of the call of rivals. Compare the size of the
ear drum in males and females against the size of the eye. Green frogs occur in
the same ponds and can be distinguished from bullfrogs by a lateral fold in the
skin; the male also has an ear drum larger than its eye.
A top predator in most ponds is the snapping turtle which will eat almost
anything it can catch. They roam widely to reach remote ponds and are
ubiquitous inhabitants of fresh water. Their shell is greatly reduced in
comparison with a box turtle since their defensive capabilities are
considerable. They often bask to raise their body temperature to accelerate
digestion.
The northern water snake is also wide spread and often feared by humans due to
its resemblance to the water moccasin, which does not occur in the mountains
and northern latitudes. It is primarily seen while basking on rocks and logs.
This large female likely enhances the development of her young by raising her
body temperature.
Try sitting by a small pond for a while and enjoy the show! It is a fascinating
illustration of how one tiny habitat can provide a home for a myriad of
creatures that are each dependent in some way on aquatic habitats. I find it
especially interesting how this web of life fluctuates on both a daily and
seasonal basis, and varies depending on whether fish are present.
Bill Dunson
Galax, VA and Englewood, FL
http://lemonbayconservancy.org/news-blog/nature-notes-by-bill-dunson/
http://pieenvironmental.blogspot.com/
http://www.galaxgazette.com/blogs
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Fishing spider pond eight farm 7.22.15 Bill Dunson IMG_8223 aa.jpg
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Eastern pond hawk female farm 7.17.15 Bill Dunson IMG_8111 aa.jpg
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Eastern pondhawk mae pond eight farm 7.22.15 Bill Dunson IMG_8263 aa.jpg
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Common green darners ovipositing pond eight farm 7.22.15 Bill Dunson IMG_8213 aa.jpg
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Bullfrog male pond eight farm 7.23.15 Bill Dunson IMG_8280 aa.jpg
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Bullfrog female farm 7.22.15 Bill Dunson IMG_8216 aa.jpg
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Green frog at Keightons 7.2.15 Bill Dunson IMG_7757 aa.jpg
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Snapper sunning on rock pond one 6.7.15 Bill Dunson IMG_7164 aa.jpg
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N water snake Beaverdam Trail 7.4.15 Bill Dunson aa.jpg
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