A pond is often a hoard of activity, and is home to a huge number of animals and microscopic organisms. On the surface where there's plenty of oxygen, light and other small insects to eat you'll find the likes of pond snails, water spiders and pond skaters. Life isn't plain sailing on top though - these smaller pond-dwellers are a perfect feast for predator birds like the heron, fish, and mammals like the water vole that can swim underwater to get to its food.

Other more well-known members of the pond family are frogs and toads. These amphibians can live comfortably on both land and water and lay their eggs in ponds. Frog-spawn matures into tadpoles which live in the pond water like fish, and as they grow they develop legs from their fins. If the pond is surrounded by plants then the small insects that the plants attract make a perfect meal for a hungry frog. Hovering over the surface you'll sometimes find dragonfly and mayfly, and a nearby kingfisher might be seen hunting its prey from the surface.

There are an enormous number of pond plants common to Britain. You can even find a number of plants growing amongst the mud and silt at the pond floor. Among them are the parrot's feather with whorls of feathery leaves which provide dense cover on the pond margins; golden creeping Jenny, an evergreen with creeping roots and glossy round golden yellow leaves; lizard's tail which forms clumps of heart-shaped leaves and hanging clusters of cream flowers; and the common water lily which likes sunshine and rich soil. Irises, water mint, water forget-me-not, spearwort, ragged robin and marsh marigold are commonly found at the pond's margins.

In the middle of the pond, there is sufficient oxygen for leech and phantom midget larva from the oxygen released by the plants on the pond floor during the day. The leech has tendencies you could compare with a vampire - it sucks the blood of tadpoles, frogs and fish. Another insect, the great water boatman floats on the surface upside down and dives inside to feed on algae, detritus, and other material from the pond floor.

In the shadowy world of the pond floor there's less oxygen but plenty of room amongst the stones, plants and mud to hide for those less gregarious creatures. Fish eat the decaying animals and plants, while creatures like the rat-tailed maggot wriggle through the mud to scavenge for decaying plants. From these humble beginnings it goes on to switch sides - swapping the water for life above as a hover fly. The flatworm and freshwater mussel also move through the mud to devour small insects and leftover particles. Plants like the deep-water golden club can be found here, with bright yellow flower-spikes that can be seen on the surface, held above with floating leaves.

Now that you have some idea of what you might find in a pond, have you ever tried pond dipping? Click the link below to find out more.

	Have a go at pond dipping!

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