Life In The Water (1.5 hours)

A short classroom introduction to the program -  highlighting the two different environments to be visited; pond (lentic) and stream (lotic) - will be presented to the students.   Then, led by the instructor, the group will hike to the trout stream that runs through the preserve.  Once there, the instructor will wade into the stream to collect some of the different species of aquatic insects typical to a stream environment, e.g. dragon fly nymph, caddis fly and stone fly larvae, various annelids and other aquatic species.  The instructor will introduce the conditions of a moving water environment and the physical adaptations necessary for the animals to survive there, as students examine the captured organisms. Selected specimens will be retained for comparison.  The group will then be led back to the small pond, where students will be able to net the waters in small groups, searching for the various species of organisms typical to a pond environment.  Species caught will be examined and compared to the stream species.  A discussion of the adaptive differences between stream and pond organisms will conclude the program, reinforcing the concepts of adaptation with examples of streamlining, attachment and propulsion.  Students will learn understand the differences between a running water (stream/river) and a standing water (pond/lake) environment, and some of the adaptations necessary for organisms to survive, and will be able to identify some of the  more common constituents of these habitats.