mmsknackkt.files.wordpress.com€¦ · Web view06.05.2019 · Organism: Green Algae (Kingdom: Plantae) Algae are very small organisms found in river and other wet areas including

6.6 Unit Challenge Resource: River Species Fact Sheets

Organism: Green Algae (Kingdom: Plantae)

Algae are very small organisms found in river and other wet areas including lakes and ponds. The green “scum” on the surface of water and along the shore of rivers, lakes or ponds is algae. This scum is made up of many organisms, and in order to see one of those organisms you would need a microscope. Algae can live in many places including flowing water like rivers and streams, as well as water that does not flow, like puddles ponds and lakes. Algae can be seen during warm months floating in water or attached to rocks. Algae absorb light from the sun and convert that to food. Algae also need other nutrients to survive. If these nutrients are too low algae populations can shrink. Since algae use sunlight to make food they can compete with other plants for that sunlight, including duckweed, blue-green algae, a kind of bacteria, watercress, and periphyton (the slimy stuff that grows on rocks). Algae are eaten by a number of organisms, including zooplankton, mayfly larvae, caddisfly larvae, snails, and small fish.

Fun facts/question to answer after reading article about algae:

1) How many species of algae are there in the world? 2) What percent of oxygen is produced by algae?3) What are the three main types of algae?

Copyright, Michigan Technological University 2017, all rights reserved.


Organism: Mayfly Larvae (Order: Ephemeroptera)

Mayfly are a type of insect, called “macroinvertebrates” commonly found in rivers. They live a part of their life as larvae underwater (left picture) before coming out of the water as adults, where they become flying insects (right picture). Mayfly larvae live under rocks or logs underwater as well as in vegetation during the day and crawl out onto the top of rocks at night to eat. A typical diet for mayfly larvae include diatoms, green algae, aquatic plants, and detritus (organic stuff from dead animals). Mayfly larvae collect their food from the water as well as use their front legs to scrape algae from rocks. As adults, mayflies do not eat, and spend the rest of their lives trying to mate. Mayfly larvae are eaten by a number of other organisms including other macroinvertebrates, such as, some species of stonefly, dragonfly larvae, and fish including brook trout. When they come out of the water as flying insects they are eaten by little brown bats. Mayfly larvae compete with other macroinvertebrates that live in rivers and eat similar foods, including species of stonefly larvae, caddisfly larvae. Mayfly larvae are important to keeping track of water quality because they are sensitive to pollution and are limited by water quality and available food and habitat. Scientists know that rivers that have mayfly living in them are relatively clean.

Fun facts/questions to answer after reading about Mayfly Larvae

1) How long to adult mayfly live for after becoming reproductive? 2) How do mayfly larvae avoid being eaten? 3) What does their scientific name “Ephemeroptera” mean?



Organism: Northern Clearwater Crayfish (Orconectes propinquus)

Crayfish are a type of invertebrate that live in aquatic environments including rivers, streams, and lakes. In rivers they are commonly found living in rocky areas of clear water. Crayfish are omnivores, which means they eat a combination of plant material as well as other animals. A typical crayfish diet can consist of aquatic insects, snails, other invertebrates (mayfly larvae, stonefly larvae), aquatic plants, and green algae. Crayfish are often eaten by other, larger crayfish as well as fish, otters, raccoons, minks, and great blue herons. As an attempt to escape from predators, crayfish will use their tail to swim away from danger. Some crayfish have mutualistic relationships with worms that live in the water. The worms attach themselves to the crayfish and eat parasites that feed on the gills and shell of the crayfish. The benefit is that crayfish have to deal with fewer parasites and the worms are able to eat the parasites as food.

Fun facts/questions to answer after reading about crayfish.

1) How long can crayfish live?2) How long can crayfish bodies grow?3) How do crayfish communicate with others about potential predators?



Organism: Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)

Brook trout are a species of fish that often live in rivers and streams that have cold, clear water with lots of oxygen. This species of trout is known to eat many types of food. They will eat insects such as caddisflies, mayflies, midges, and blackflies. They also eat worms, leeches, crayfish, spiders, snails, frogs, salamanders, snakes, small mammals such as voles, and fish, sometimes including young brook trout. Brook trout are not eaten by many river fish, although young brook trout can be eaten by other fish including brown trout. As adults, brook trout are eaten by birds such as herons and kingfishers, snapping turtles, and river otters. Brook trout compete with other species of fish for food and shelter, including non-native species like brown trout. Because they need cold clear water, brook trout can be limited by water temperature if it gets too warm. They also need the rocky habitat to reproduce, therefore sand covering these habitats can limit their populations.

Fun facts/questions to answer after reading about Brook Trout.

1) When do brook trout reproduce (spawn)?2) How do brook trout communicate? 3) What are the three “habitat components” brook trout need?



Organism: Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)

Belted kingfisher are a species of bird that commonly live near rivers and lakes. They usually build their nests along tall banks of rivers and search for food while sitting up high overlooking the water. Because they use their eyes to look for food, they need clear, calm water that they can see through from up high. As you might guess from their name, belted kingfisher mostly eat fish including, sculpin, trout, suckers, stickleback, perch, and pike. They also eat crayfish, berries, snakes, turtles, small birds and mammals, and insects including caddisflies, butterflies, moths. Because of their size, belted kingfisher usually hunt for fish that are between 4 and 14 centimeters long. When they notice a fish or other prey in the water they dive down underwater to catch them using their beaks. Belted kingfisher do not have many predators, but will sometimes be eaten by large birds including Cooper’s hawks, sharp-shinned hawk, and Peregrine falcons. Because of what they eat, Belted kingfisher compete with other fish eaters like, predatory fish, and mammals such as river otter and mink. Since belted kingfisher build their nests along the banks of rivers, they are limited by finding habitat where they can build them and also have places to sit and watch for food. Since they hunt with their eyes, they can be limited by cloudy water.

Fun facts/questions to answer after reading about Belted Kingfisher. Belted kingfisher http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Megaceryle_alcyon/

1) Are belted kingfisher considered endangered? 2) What is the territory size for belted kingfisher?3) How many eggs do belted kingfisher lay every season?

Image Sources (Last Updated 07/10/2017)



1) Photo by Felix Andrews, distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license: Green Algae (Kingdom: Plantae): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algal_bloom#/media/File:River_algae_Sichuan.jpg

2) Photo by Ian Alexander, distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license: Mayfly Larvae (Order: Ephemeroptera): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mayfly_Nymph_7_pairs_gills_dorsal_view.JPG

3) Photo by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Northern Clearwater Crayfish (Orconectes propinquus): https://www.fws.gov/fisheries/ANS/erss/highrisk/Orconectes-propinquus-ERSS-June-2015.pdf

4) Photo by Derek Ramsey, distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license: Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brook_Trout_Salvelinus_fontinalis_2900px.jpg

5) Photo by John Benson, distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license: Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Belted_Kingfisher_ibm4381.jpg


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mmsknackkt.files.wordpress.com€¦ · Web view06.05.2019 · Organism: Green Algae (Kingdom: Plantae) Algae are very small organisms found in river and other wet areas including