Succession in Lakes and Ponds

Vocabulary flashcards covering the concepts and stages of succession in lakes and ponds.

Succession (in aquatic ecosystems)

The gradual replacement of one community of organisms with another, caused by a gradual increase in nutrients and decrease in depth of a lake, leading to different plant communities.

Oligotrophic (nutrients)

Describes a lake with low nutrient concentration.

Mesotrophic (nutrients)

Describes a lake with moderate nutrient concentration.

Eutrophic (nutrients)

Describes a lake with high nutrient concentration.

Oligotrophic Lake

A young, deep lake with low nutrients, clear water, high dissolved oxygen, cold temperatures, and low productivity, characterized by a Pioneer/Bare-bottom stage.

Pioneer/Bare-bottom Stage

A stage in oligotrophic lakes where there is little plant growth on the bottom due to insufficient light (too deep/aphotic) and limiting nutrients.

Submergent Vegetation Stage

A stage where rivers bring in nutrients and sediment, making the lake shallower, allowing light to reach the bottom and submergent plants to grow in photic areas.

Mesotrophic Lake

A middle-aged lake with moderate nutrients, not as deep as oligotrophic, moderate phytoplankton/turbidity, warmer temperatures, high dissolved oxygen, and moderate productivity, characterized by a submergent vegetation stage.

Floating Vegetation Stage

A stage where the lake is shallow enough for plants like lily pads to grow from the bottom and reach the surface.

Emergent Vegetation Stage

A stage where the lake continues to get shallower along the edges, allowing emergent vegetation, such as cattails, to begin to grow.

Eutrophic Lake

An older, relatively shallow lake with high nutrients, high phytoplankton/turbidity and plant growth, warm temperatures, low dissolved oxygen, and moderate productivity, characterized by an emergent vegetation stage.

Reedswamp

A stage where the lake is shallow enough to support a large amount of emergent vegetation along the edges, but still retains open water in the middle.

Marsh

A stage that forms when the open water in the center of a reedswamp becomes filled with emergent vegetation, resulting in very little or no open water.

Carr

A stage where the lake is shallow enough to support the growth of shrubs on small island-like hummocks.

Swamp

A stage where the lake has no open water and is shallow enough for trees to grow.

Terrestrial Ecosystem (final stage)

The final stage of lake succession where the lake completely fills in, dries up, and transforms into a land-based ecosystem.