Fauna reservoirs in their habitat is divided into two main groups.First - it is zooplankton, and the second - the benthos.Zooplankton lives directly in the water column and benthos occupies the bottom.Some groups form organisms that live on various subjects, underwater plants and fish.So, plants and animals are reservoirs - what are they?
Plants
They have occupied a whole aquatic environment.In lakes and streams, ponds and streams grow and multiply a wide variety of representatives from the world of flora.Over millions of years of evolution, they have adapted well to the conditions of living in the reservoirs.Some of them are completely submerged in water, while others grow over her embroidery.Some of them are found in general at the boundary between water and land and air.Let's speak about the most famous of them.
Air marsh
It forms large thickets in shallow water.Its leaves have a powerful and xiphoid form.Reaches a length of up to 1.5 meters.In Calamus it has a long rhizome, covered with traces of dead leaves.These rhizomes - known cure for certain diseases.And its use in cooking (spices), and in cosmetics.
bulrush
This plant focuses on wetland shores.Its creeping rhizome and has a hollow interior.Thick stalk cylindrical shape rises to a height of 2 meters.He is crowned with characteristic brown cones collected in a whisk.Short and rigid leaves are arranged in the lower part of the stem bulrush.Thickets of plants sometimes impenetrable wall surrounding the reservoir, presenting its inhabitants a safe shelter.
lily
This plant is rarely seen in the flowing waters.Mostly it grows in marshes, ponds, oxbows and backwaters.His powerful rhizome has strong adventitious roots, and the leaves are oval, sitting on long petioles, floating on the water.One of the most beautiful water lily plant is considered to be snow-white.That she devoted a lot of poetry and legends.
Its ecosystem
As you know, the living conditions in the water bodies of different types are also different.That is why the species composition of animals living in flowing waters, is significantly different from the animal world, sojourns only in stagnant water.In this article we will, of course, will not be able to describe the diversity of fauna, but noted the main groups of animals that inhabit these waters.
Zooplankton
It is the most popular animals living in water bodies.The term "zooplankton" called protozoa: ciliates, amoeba, flagellates, rhizopod.They serve as food for young fish and other small aquatic animals.These organisms are rather small in size, they can not be seen by the human eye, since it requires a microscope.Consider the example of the amoeba.
Amoeba ordinary
This creature is known to every person who has reached school age.Amoebas - this animal reservoirs (photo in the article), is the belief unicellular loners.Find these creatures can be almost anywhere where there is water and particles, edible bacteria, small relatives, dead organic matter.
Amoebas or rhizopod - being picky.They live in lakes and seas, crawling on aquatic plants.Sometimes they take up residence in the intestines of vertebrates.Amoebas are and their overseas relatives.This so-called foraminifera.They inhabit exclusively marine waters.
cladocerans
Zooplankton standing water is predominantly so-called cladocerans.These creatures look as follows.They shortened body enclosed in the shell consisting of two valves.Their head is covered with the top shell to which are attached two pairs of special antennae.Rear antennae of these crustaceans are well developed and serve as fins.
Each antenna is divided into two branches with thick feathery bristles.They serve to increase the surface of swimming.Their body is a shell up to 6 pairs of swimming legs.Branched crustaceans - typical animal reservoirs, their dimensions do not exceed 5 millimeters.These beings - an essential part of the ecosystem of the reservoir, because they are food for the young fish.So, we move on to the fish.
Pike Pike and its prey (fish, which feed on it) - are animals freshwater.This is a typical predator, widespread in our country.Like other organisms, pike at different stages of development are fed differently.They fry just hatched from eggs, live directly in shallow water in shallow bays.It is these waters are rich in their ecosystem.
There pike fry begin to feed those most heavily crustaceans and protozoa, which we discussed above.In two weeks the fry move on insect larvae, leeches and worms.Plants and animals are reservoirs of the country in different regions are different.This we say to the fact that not so long ago, ichthyologists have found an interesting feature: schuryat living in central Russia, since the age of two months give their preference to the young perch and roach.
Since that time, the diet of young pike starts to significantly expand.She happily eats tadpoles, frogs, big fish (and sometimes larger than yourself twice!) And even small birds.Sometimes pike cannibals: they eat their fellows.It should be noted that fish and zooplankton - are not the only animals living in the water bodies.See more of their inhabitants.
spider silverfish
His second name - the water spider.It is common across Europe arachnid creature, which differs from its congeners swimming setae on the hind legs and three claws on them.The name he earned because of his belly underwater lights silver light.Spider does not sink due to a special water-repellant.It can be found in stagnant or slow-flowing waters.
feeds on spider silverfish variety of small animals that are caught in the threads of his underwater webs.Sometimes he catches himself prey.If it turned out to catch more than usual, he carefully mans excess of its underwater nest.By the way, the spider makes its nest by attaching the thread to the underwater objects.It is open from top to bottom, the water spider fills it with air, making the so-called diving bell.
Average truncatula
Animals that live in ponds, largely known to us through the school textbook of zoology.That ordinary truncatula is no exception.These larger snails are lung mollusks.They live all over Europe, Asia, North America and Africa.In Russia, the largest type of living mollusks.The size of the cochlea - the value of variable, because it is totally dependent on those or other conditions of existence.
His "house" - a one-piece sink with a single hole at the bottom.As a rule, she twirled in a spiral of 5-7 turns and extends downward.Inside the shell is a fleshy body slimy.From time to time it protrudes outward, forming a head at the top and wide and flat bottom leg.With this foot slides on truncatula plants and underwater objects like to ski.
We do not knowingly noted that mollusks are common pulmonary mollusks.The fact that these animals freshwater breathe atmospheric air, as we are with you.The pond with the help of its "feet" stick to the underside of the water diapers reveal its breathing hole, picking up in air.No light they have, underneath the skin they have a so-called pulmonary cavity.That it is stored and consumed for air.
Frogs and toads
Animals reservoirs are not limited to microorganisms, snails and other small invertebrates creatures.Along with the fish in the lakes and ponds can be seen and amphibians - frogs and toads.Their tadpoles nearly all summer swim in ponds with fresh water.In spring amphibian satisfied "concert" they using their bags resonators bawling the whole neighborhood, laying eggs in the water.
Reptiles
If we talk about what animals are reservoirs of reptiles, there is no doubt, we can note an ordinary snake.His whole life is directly connected with the search for food.He hunts frogs.For a man, these snakes do not pose any harm.Unfortunately, many ignorant people kill snakes, mistaking them for poisonous snakes.Because of this the number of these animals is markedly reduced.Another aquatic reptile - this, for example, red-eared sliders.It was her terrariums contain amateur naturalists.
Birds
Plants and animals in many ponds interconnected with each other, since the first Secondly protect!This is seen most clearly in the case of birds.The tendency of birds to water bodies is largely due to higher food capacity of these places, as well as excellent safety conditions (reeds and sedges make invisible birds).The bulk of these animals is based on waterfowl (geese, ducks, swans), passerine, copepods, pogankoobraznyh, Totimplate birds and waders birds.
Mammals
Where do without them!Some of these animals have taken hold upon an entire globe, spreading wherever possible: in the air (bats) in water (whales, dolphins), on the ground (tigers, elephants, giraffes, dogs, cats), underground (shrews, moles).Despite this, mammal related to the fresh and standing water on the territory of our country is not as much.
Some of them spend almost all his life in ponds, without leaving them a single step (muskrat, weasel, otter, muskrat, beaver), while others prefer to stay out of the water, and next to it (water voles).In such animals between toes, there are well-developed swimming membrane, and in the ears and nostrils are special valves, plug these vital holes during immersion of the animal in the water.
