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~~ om ~* RO te Summer is just around the corner and that means - What to do with kids outside especially on the lake shore? Jay, “Junior Lake Detective” to the rescue! The shores of Lake Scugog, its rivers and streams are teeming with exciting and important tiny life forms to see and marvel at. Some are easily visible and others can only be seen with a magnifying glass or even a micro- scope. But Jay suggests that children don’t need fancy equipment to experience a natural shoreline’s diversity. Ashort trip to Canadian Tire should provide any extras your family may not have: * small pond net + inexpensive magnifying glass + white bucket From your house you might find two or three small, low white plastic tubs with lids, a plastic spoon and a pair of tweezers. But — all you really need is a healthy dose of curiosity! Bugs in the mud With you safely in the near back- ground, your own Junior Lake Detective should put about 10 cms. of lake water in the bucket. Then they should swoop the net in the water at the lake edge in a gentle up and down motion, taking it through the underwater plants and along the top mud layer along the shore. Then tur the net inside out over the bucket, swishing it in the water to remove anything trapped in the net. Repeat this several times. Take a tub and dip about % a centimeter of water from the bucket, trying to pick up a collection of the small bits that have been caught in the net. Now is the time for sharp eyes! Is anything moving - wiggling or swimming? Keep looking! The little specks that look like mud will move! Carefully pick up those tiny creatures with the spoon or the tweezers and place them on the lid of the tub for up-close viewing with the magni- fying glass. The study of these tiny “benthic invertebrates” (or for us - “bugs in the mud’) is a tool used by scientists. They are “biological indicators of watershed health.” The more the numbers and their diversity, the better the health of the water at that portion of the lake shore. Since many of these “benthos” breathe through openings in their skin, sandy and gravel areas are preferred to fine mud. How to understand what you see: Agood website for you and your child to get good pictures of many of the creatures you are likely to find under your magnifying glass is to search the internet for aan n on “Common Freshwater Benthic Macroinvertebrates.” Searching for Dragonflies! Jay, our Junior Lake Detective loves dragonflies! He knows they love to devour pesky mos- quitoes. What few people know is that before dragonflies turn into the well-known beautiful adult, they spend the first year or more of their life underwater in their im- mature nymph (called a naiad) stage. These nymphs are quite vicious carnivores. They have a special jaw that shoots out and grabs their prey. One of their favourite foods is mosquito larva. When they are ready to be- come adults, they climb out of the water onto a plant, pumping fluid into their wings as they emerge from their naiad casing. Finding dragonfly nymphs is a good indi- cation of shoreline health. Empty casings can often be found on plants or rocks. Dragonfly nymph Appi Dipping for Daphnia The shoreline waters of Lake Scugog are full of the tiny, microscopic Daphnia. The Daphnia are food for many aquatic creatures, such as dragonflies. Junior lake detectives will just be able to see them with careful observation under a magnifying glass. Daphnia are filter feeders, filtering out algae, dead plant and animal debris and } other particles as food. These tiny creatures p/ are probably the most important herbivores in the lake! They are an important food source for baby fish. Scientists consider them a “sentinel species” that are important indicators of lake health. If you find this Junior Lake Detective article interest- ing, log on regularly to the Lake Stewards website www.scugoglakestewards.com for more ideas. Just remember, always return creatures you are looking at to their natural environment after your studies.