Watch the short animation on succession by clicking
on the link below. After the animation click the red X in
The top right corner to return to the PowerPoint.
• http://www.sabah.edu.my/csm07010/For
m%204/pond.htm
I. Succession
A. A geological event (glacier or sink hole)
can create a pond.
B. Pond- shallow hole where water collects and
light penetrates to the bottom.
C. If left unattended, ponds will fill in with
dirt and debris until they become land.
It often takes hundreds of years for a
pond to be transformed from a body of
clear water into soil.
II. The Stages of Pond Succession
A. Stage One
As a pond develops, seeds are flown in by birds and
land animals come to inhabit the pond. These are
the pond pioneers.
B. Stage Two
As more creatures arrive, the debris on the bottom
increases. Pondweed and other submergent
vegetation appears and begins to grow all along the
bottom.
The Four Stages of Pond Succession
C. Stage Three
Emergents appear on the edges of the pond and
grow, die, and decompose which causes layers of
debris build up and raise the pond floor.
The Four Stages of Pond Succession
D. Stage Four
1. Eventually the pond floor is close enough
to the bottom that emergents grow all
the way across the floor resulting in a marsh.
2. The marsh continues to fill in with dirt and debris.
3. Trees begin to grow in the water until it is a
swamp.
4. Swamp dries up and the former pond is now a
forest or grassland.