Lotic Water Habitats

What does the word lotic mean? Bodies of water that are lotic are moving. Rivers, streams, and creeks are all lotic.

Lotic habitats can be fun to explore. Try throwing a stick into the water. What happens? The current pulls it away from you! Investigate the current. Is it the same in every part of the stream? Are there places where the current is faster or slower?

The water in a lotic habitat is always moving. But not all parts of a stream move in the same way. In some places, the water moves slowly; in other places it can run more quickly. When water runs swiftly over rocks, it forms riffles. Riffles are often a sign of good water quality in a stream.

Do you see the riffles in this stream? Look for the water that is moving quickly.

Would you like to live where the water is always moving? There are some creatures that call these places home. Try gathering up some leaves or rocks from a stream. (Be sure to ask a grown-up to help.) What can you find? Here is a mayfly nymph found crawling on the bottom of a stone in a mountain stream. Notice its three tails.

This mayfly nymph is only about 2 centimeters long.

If you find any creatures in a stream, be sure to observe them carefully, and then put them back exactly where you found them. Life in a lotic habitat is tough enough--we don't need to make it any harder!

Have you ever visited a lotic habitat? What did you notice?

First Flowers of Spring

What kinds of flowers can you find in the spring? Springtime ephemerals are flowers that bloom for a short time. These flowers take advantage of the sunny days in the forest. They bloom before the leaves come out on the trees.

Dutchman's Breeches

Springtime ephemerals are usually on the small side. But they are quite beautiful! The flower above is called Dutchman's breeches. The word breeches is an old-fashioned word for pants. Can you see how the flower got its name?

Tiny Tadpoles

What are these underwater blobs? They contain eggs--lots and lots of eggs!


In March and April, frogs, toads, and salamanders lay their eggs. These amphibians spend part of their lives in water, and part of their lives on the land. If you look carefully in ponds, you can often find some of these eggs. Often you can even see the tiny animals developing inside.

Different amphibians lay their eggs in different places. Wood frogs, for example, only lay eggs in vernal pools. Vernal pools are special ponds that are only wet in the spring time. The pool in the picture above dries up completely in the summer. Because of this, no fish can live there. This means that the tadpoles will be safe from predators!

Other kinds of tadpoles can stay safe from predators, even in larger bodies of water. The American toad lays its eggs in ponds and lakes. They share the water with larger animals, like fish. But these toad tadpoles stay in the very shallow water of the lake. This way, they are out of reach of the larger fish!

Tadpoles are easy to find in ponds and lakes. Are there any near you? Try visiting a local nature center or park and asking if there are tadpoles nearby. Be sure to take a parent or adult with you if you go near the water. Can you find any eggs? What about tadpoles? Good luck!

A Stinky Sign of Spring

By the middle of February, many people are hoping for warmer weather. Skunk cabbage flowers are one sign that spring is on the way!

Skunk cabbage flowers don't look like much. They are not showy and colorful like the flowers that bloom later in the year. However, skunk cabbage flowers are pretty special. They are one of the earliest flowers to bloom. Even when the ground is covered in snow, skunk cabbage flowers can be found.

How can they grow through the cold ground? Skunk cabbage flowers can heat up the air around them! The warmth they give off helps to melt the snow and ice. Scientists think that the warmth might also help insects to smell the flower.

The insects, of course, are the reason for the flower. Small insects that are active in the early spring smell the skunk cabbage. They spread the skunk cabbage's pollen from flower to flower.

While insects might like the scent of the skunk cabbage flower, people certainly don't. And that's how the plant got its stinky name! The leaves, which will poke up out of the ground in a month or so, also have a bad smell.

Even though skunk cabbage isn't the most beautiful, or the sweetest-smelling, it is a wonderful sign of spring. 

Behavioral Adaptations

An adaptation is a feature that helps an animal to survive in its environment. Some adaptations are physical adaptations. A duck's webbed feet helps it to swim. This is a physical adaptation.

Other adaptations are behavioral adaptations. Behavioral adaptations are animal actions that help it to survive. Some animals hibernate in the winter. Hibernation is a behavioral adaptation. Other animals migrate. Migration is a behavioral adaptation.

Learn more about behavioral adaptations with the Powerpoint below:

Behavioral adaptations

View more presentations from Emily Kissner.

An Unexpected Guest

You can see how tiny the spring peeper is in this photograph.

We found an unexpected visitor in the yard last week. A tiny spring peeper was hopping by! This kind of frog is hard to find in the fall, which made its visit even more exciting.

Recognizing a Spring Peeper
Spring peepers are tiny frogs. They are usually no bigger than your thumb! Spring peepers do not have webbed feet, like many swimming frogs. Instead, they have large toe pads which help them to climb. When I looked at this frog closely, the real sign of its identify was the faint "X" marked on its back. Spring peepers are known for this kind of marking.

Spring Peepers in the Autumn
Spring peepers are easy to find in the spring. If you live near a pond, their noise might be deafening! In the fall, they are harder to find. But fall is an interesting time for these creatures as well. The peepers are looking for food so that they can get ready to hibernate for the winter.

Spring peepers hibernate under rotting logs, or even behind loose bark on trees. Like some other reptiles and amphibians, spring peepers can actually stand being frozen. How amazing!

So, although it's a season in which I don't usually think about spring peepers, I have to thank this little guy for stopping by.

Here you can see the "X" marked on the frog's back.

A Poem: Combine Crewcut

Last week, as I was driving, I happened to pass a combine cutting corn from a field. It looked for all the world as if the combine was trimming the cornfield's hair! It inspired me to write this poem:

Combine Crewcut
The cornfield got a crewcut
Tall stalks trimmed by combine clippers
Taking some off the sides, the back, the front
Leaving a stubble of stalk stumps.


Except, in one forgotten spot,
A place where two scraggly stalks
Stick up, cowlick straight, toward the sky...


The cornfield got a crewcut
New hairstyle for the fall.

What do you think? Have you ever seen a cornfield, a lawn, or a meadow being mowed? Can you imagine thinking about it like a haircut?