Pond Field Study

  Date: November 23 Time: 5:25pm Climate: not much sun, sun is setting, clear sky Temperature: 44 degrees Fahrenheit  Length Day: 9 hours, 31 minutes Organisms: There was much less birds compared to all my previous visits. I only saw a few. I also did not see any fish towards the surface of the pond. There was deer around the pond later at night, but not during the time of my visit. Overall, every visit there are less and less organisms that are visible, as it is getting colder.  Observation: All of the leaves have pretty much fallen off of the trees. Some still have a little bit of leaves. There are lots of leaves also covering the ground. Also compared to my beginning visits, there is no algae at the surface of the pond. It has been very interesting to see less and less each visit. I also noticed a ton of bark fell of the tree that is to the left of my field study location. And a big branch and few smaller ones fell of of the tree. I'm not sure what happened.  Othe...

  Date: November 2 Time: 5:12pm Climate: Slightly sunny, also some clouds Temperature: 42 degrees Fahrenheit  Length Day: 10 hours, 17 minutes Organisms: I noticed birds again, but much less compared to last time. The fish in the pond were not near the surface and when I looked closely I still didn't see any. There were some squirrels crawling up the trees. The falling leaves are providing nutrients for the smaller organisms within the water and surrounding the pond.  Observation: The leaves are much more of a yellow color. There is also lots of them all over the ground. There is also pretty much no algae on the surface of the pond, compared to last visit. The water also looks a lot more brown. The sun was also lower so it was not reflecting off of the water. The trees further back in my pictures also had much more colors on the leaves like red and yellow.  Question: Why do people rake up leaves if they have nutrients for microorganisms?

 Date: October 12 Time: 12:18pm Climate: Sunny, Air is cooler and a slight breeze Temperature: 59 degrees Fahrenheit  Length Day: 11 hours, 12 minutes Organisms: I saw some birds, but they were quieter today then typically. I saw a couple squirrels crawling up a tree. And the fish were not visible today when I looked at the pond. I also saw a small ant hill.    Observation: I expected some of the leaves to be more red and orange as it is starting to get colder but they were all green. The sunlight was filtering through the trees and reflecting off the surface of the water. There is also still lots of algae at the surface of the water. And there is lots of vegetation that surrounds the pond that will begin to die off as winter gets closer. The soil near the edge of the pond was also moist today.  Question: Why are the leaves not falling off the trees yet, or turning different colors?

 

 

 Date: September 29 Time: 3:54pm Climate: Sunny, Slightly dry Temperature: 78 degrees Fahrenheit  Length Day: 11 hours, 49 minutes Organisms: I hear birds above the trees, also there is some sitting in the trees. I can kind of see the fish, but the algae is also covering a lot. There is also lots of bugs on the leaves, and on the ground.  Observation: It is more sunny today compared to last visit. There is more algae at the surface of the pond, and most of the leaves are still on the trees.