Critter Presentation by Aries Hill

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Critter Presentation

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PRESENTATION OUTLINE

CRITTER PROJECT

BY: WALL SIDE

LIST OF SENSITIVE ORGANISMS

Salamander Caddis Larva Gilled Snail Stonefly Nymph Fairy Shrimp Mayfly Nymph Dobsonfly Larva Water Penny Riffle Beetle

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SALAMANDER

Salamanders live in or near water, or find shelter on moist ground and are typically found in brooks, creeks, ponds, and other moist locations such as under rocks. Adult Salamanders are extremely carnivorous, eating almost anything that moves. They'll eat maggots, mysis, springtails, buffalo worms, fruit-flies, or crickets. amphibians, salamanders have extremely absorbent skins. Industrial contaminants, the introduction of sedimentation into waterways, sewage run off, pesticides, oils, and other chemicals and toxic substances from developmental construction sites and human settlements can all be absorbed by salamanders. The life cycle of a salamander, Like all amphibians, salamanders spend their lives near water because they must return to the water to lay their eggs. Salamander eggs are laid in the water. When they hatch, the larvae breathe with gills and swim. As they mature, they develop lungs for breathing air and go onto the land, but remain in the water. The way to tell them apart from other things in a steam is that they have slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults

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CADDIS LARVA

herbivorous--that is, they eat decaying plant tissue and algae.
Most caddisflie larvae live in houses, called cases, that they make themselves. They use the silk to stick together bits of whatever is lying on the stream bottom.
Caddisfly larvae can take a year or two to change into adults.
Caddisflies in cases have an advantage besides the protection their houses give them. The cases actually help them breathe. this is why that caddisflies can often be found even in still waters, where dissolved oxygen is low

GILLED SNAIL

Habitat: Freshwater ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, etc. Food Source: plant material, such as algae Pollution Indication: sensitive Life Cycle: do not change much in appearance throughout their lives, young ones look like mini adults (small shell, etc.), typically live for 2-4 years Identification: spiral-shaped, elongated shell (most common), flat shell (not too rare, but somewhat uncommon), hard/horn-like “trapdoor” attached to the bottom of the foot (seals when the snail retracts into its shell, protects it from predators and keeps it from drying out if it becomes stranded on land for a long time) Anatomy: mouth has radula (rows of small, sharp teeth)

STONEFLY NYMPH

Stoneflies, also known as Plecoptera, roughly 3,500 species are found worldwide, with new species still being discovered, and-of course-are found worldwide, with Antarctica as an exception. All of the species of Plecoptera have minimal tolerance of water pollution, and their presence in a stream or still water is usually an indicator of good water quality. The female can lay up to one thousand eggs, and will drop them into a body of water. The eggs are covered in a sticky substance that will stick to rock surfaces so the eggs don’t get washed away from the water current. The insects remain in the nymph stage from one to six years, depending on the species, and molt 12 to 36 times. Before they become an adult, they will leave the body of water, attach to a fixed surface, and molt one more time. Adults only survive for a few weeks and only emerge at a specific time of year when conditions are optimal. Some adults don’t even feed, but those that do are herbivorous.

FAIRY SHRIMP

habitat- it lives is limited to vernal pools. It eat bacteria, algae, protozoa, rotifers. Pollution Indication – it is sensitive to pollution in the water. Eggs hatch as soon as there water. They grow quickly and can reach maturity in 18-60 days. adults mate, cysts begin to develop in the female's brood pouch. It looks like a shrimp but it is a lot smaller it has 11 pairs of swimming legs. Fairy Shrimp are about 1 to 1 ½ inch in length.

MAYFLY NYMPH

Habitat: Flowing streams that are cold and shallow with little pollution. Can live in still waters but not common Feeding Group: Grazers, moving over stones and weeds to find food. Pollution Indication: Highly sensitive to low amount of oxygen in the water. Life Cycle: Females lay 50-10,000 eggs depending on the species. Nymphs grow for about 51 weeks and then shed their outer layer allowing the wings to come out. Adults fly away and loose one of their tails. Anatomy: Have 3 tails and 3 legs. Also have hair-like follicles on abdomen

DOBSONFLY LARVA

Dobsonfly larvae (75 to 90 mm in length) are light brown and darkened by a covering of dark brown microspines (Neunzig and Baker 1991). The thoracic segments are covered with hardened, black tergites (dorsal plates). Abdominal segments 1 through 8 have lateral tactile filaments which function to protect them from each other and from other small predators (Neunzig and Baker 1991), and segments 1 through 7 each has a pair of ventro-lateral tufts of tracheal gills that absorb dissolved oxygen (Barclay et al. 2005, Hoover et al. 1988). In addition to the tracheal gills, larvae also have spiracles allowing them to breathe both in and out of water. There are two prolegs at the tip of the abdomen -- each with a dorsal filament and a pair of terminal hooks to help the larvae anchor themselves to the substrate. The mandibles are powerful and heavily sclerotized Live at the bottom of fast moving streams and rivers They are generalist predators; dissections have revealed that they primarily eat aquatic immatures of mayflies, caddisflies, stoneflies THE FEMALE DOBSONFLY GOES TO A BIG LEAF AND LAYS ITS EGGS( IT (LAYS AROUND 3,000 EGGS), THE EGG HATCHES AND STAYS FOR SUCH A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME AS A PUPA, BUT THEY DO LIVE ON LAND. THEN THE DOBSON FLY SPENDS THE MAJORITY OF IT'S LIFE IN THE LARVAE STAGE,. DURING THIS STAGE IT IS CALLED A HELLGRAMMITE., IN THE HELLGAMMITE STAGE THE DOBSONFLY LIVES UNDERWATER. UNTIL IT WILL SHED OUT OF ITS EXOSKELETON. IT IS IN THIS PART OF THEIR LIFE CYCLE WHEN THE DOBSONFLY LARVAE EAT THE MOST. WHEN THEY ARE READY TO PUPATE THEY LEAVE THE WATER OR TRAVEL ON LAND AND GO 15 METERS AWAY FROM THE RIVER OR LAKE TO FIND A SUITABLE LOCATION FOR IT TO MAKE ITS COCOON. AS IT DIGS IT'S OWN COCOON THE HELLGAMMITE SHEDS ITS SKIN. ON THE EARTH, AND DISCARDED SKIN HELP INSULATE THE INSECT FROM THE ENVIRONMENT. IT TAKES A LONG TIME OR SHORT, DEPENDS WHICH WAY YOU LOOK AT IT, IT TAKES 2 WEEKS FOR THE NOW PUPA TO MORPH INTO AN ADULT. BY THE TIME IT MATURES IT WON'T EAT AS OFTEN. THE DOBSONFLY COULD STAY IN THE LARVAE STAGE UP TO 5 YEARS DEPENDING ON THE ENVIRONMENTS SITUATION. THE REST OF THIS INSECTS LIFESPAN IS VERY SHORT, THE HELLGRAMMITE STAGE S THE LONGEST. AFTER THE DOBSONFLY LARVAE COMES OUT OF THE COCOON IT HAS AROUND ONE WEEK PERIOD OF TIME WHEN THE DOBSONFLY IS AN ADULT. JUST AFTER MATING THEIR WORK IS DONE. THEY DIE BECAUSE THEY NO LONGER SERVE A PURPOSE. . WHEN A FEMALE LAYS HER EGGS THEY ARE PLACE NEAR THE SITE WHERE THE PARENTS WERE BORN. AS THE EGGS HATCH THE HELLGAMMITES SLIDE INTO THE WATER, MIMICKING THEIR PARENTS LIVES. THE WHOLE PROCESS TAKE AROUND 7-5 YEARS FOR IT TO LIVE AND DIE (FULL CYCLE).

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WATER PENNY

Habitat- found everywhere in tropical and temperate streams. Food- it feeds on algae which it obtains from rocks by scraping it off with their legs. Sensitive to light, inorganic sediment, and too much algae. It will leave an area if it is not in good health. Water pennies go through the same life stages as other beetles, except that the larva is flat and looks like a penny instead of a grub. The larvae may take more than a year to mature. When they are large enough to transform they do so either underwater, still attached to stones, or in the soil near the stream. When they emerge as adult beetles they locate a mate and reproduce. Identification- you can tell it’s a water penny because it’s flat and will be located on rocks. They have six legs and some species may be more rounded than others. If you find this species in a stream it’s an indicator that the stream is in good health

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RIFFLE BEETLE

Habitat- woody debris in the riffle zones of freshwater streams Function Feeding group- Most riffle beetles are believed to feed on small particles of dead plant material, other organic debris, and periphyton Pollution indication- pollution, especially by soaps and detergents Life cycle-LIFE CYCLE: All beetles undergo complete metamorphosis with life cycles consisting of an egg, larva with multiple instars, pupa, and adult. All life stages except that of the egg make take place throughout the year. Identification- species of about two millimeters in length, with females slightly larger than males. It is reddish brown in color and has short hind wings and a narrow body. The larva has an elongate, tubular body and can be up to 10 millimeters in length.

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