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Nobleboro Central School
Nobleboro Central School : Lake Life
FRESHWATER MUSSELS Photo from University of Massachusetts Biology Department |
Mussels By Brittany, Renee,
and Erin Mussels are creatures that live in many parts of the U.S.
including Maine. The mussel population has been declining and many are
considered an endangered species. There are over 300 different species
and 10 of them live in Maine lakes even though 70% are endangered or
extinct. Mussels spend most of their time anchored in the mud at lake
bottoms. They move around using strong currents or a muscular “foot”
that pulls them along. They eat microscopic food particles such as
plankton using filtration. Water enters through the branchial siphon
and exits through the excurrent siphon. Mussels can live very long and
some have been recorded to live up to 100 years. Pollution sometimes
reduces the lifetime expectancy. Most importantly, mussels can tell us
how healthy the water is because they are very sensitive to certain
pollutants such as heavy metals, pesticides, and agricultural
nutrients. These pollutants will kill mussels, thus providing a warning. | |
ALEWIVES | This
is a picture of a type of fish native to Maine called Alewives. Every
year the Alewives swim from the lower part of Damariscotta Lake to the
upper section up the falls to spawn. Alewives are also harvested,
smoked and given to the widows in Nobleboro and Damariscotta. Maine has
an annual spring alewife run. Alewives are an anadromous fish species
that return from the ocean to spawn in the lake of their birth.
Nobleboro has a fish ladder that leads from an estuary environment up
to Damariscotta Lake. The following video was filmed, edited and
produced by an eighth grade student at Nobleboro. The fish are quite a
remarkable sight every spring and Austin has done a fine job trying to
relay the excitement of the annual alewife run up the Damariscotta
Mills fish ladder into the lake. Thanks Austin for filming the run on
your own time and then taking the hours necessary to edit the raw
footage into something worth sharing with the world. View the movie. [fair warning--the file is large (5.6mb) and it may take over 30 minutes to download on a dial-up connection] | |
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THREE LEGGED SNAPPER
| This
fall, 2003, the Melinda Ann and crew took us on a little side trip into
the marshy area between Pemaquid Pond and Duck Puddle Pond. During the
warm early afternoon we were treated to numerous turtle sightings along
the shore. Read about turtle hibernating in Maine underneath the next
photograph. | |
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2003 TURTLE CRUISE
| In
September my class went on a “cruise” of Pemaquid Lake with the Maine
Lakes Conservancy Institute (MlCI). Nobleboro Central School has been
in partnership with MLCI for almost two years. MLCI chose us to be a
part of their web site because of our town’s rich water resources. The
class was split into two groups, one that went in the morning and one
that went in the afternoon. The morning class saw 5 painted turtles
basking on logs. The afternoon group saw 22 painted turtles and 1
snapping turtle. The turtle sitings were made on an outlet between
Pemaquid Lake and Duck Puddle Pond. Almost all turtles were seen on
logs or rocks sunbathing trying to get their blood temperature up so
they could start to feed. Turtles in Maine spend winter in a total
water environment under the surface layer of ice. Their metabolism
slows down so that they don’t need to eat while they are under water.
As reptiles, turtles need to breath to survive, and under water for
months you would think that they would drown. However, there are
miniature blood vessels in their neck and anus that can extract oxygen
out of the water as they hibernate under the ice. Pretty amazing to
think that turtles can actually breathe through their.......you
know........bottom. by Austin | In September my
class went on a “cruise” of Pemaquid Lake with the Maine Lakes
Conservancy Institute (MlCI). Nobleboro Central School has been in
partnership with MLCI for almost two years. MLCI chose us to be a part
of their web site because of our town’s rich water resources. The class
was split into two groups, one that went in the morning and one that
went in the afternoon. The morning class saw 5 painted turtles basking
on logs. The afternoon group saw 22 painted turtles and 1 snapping
turtle. The turtle sitings were made on an outlet between Pemaquid Lake
and Duck Puddle Pond. Almost all turtles were seen on logs or rocks
sunbathing trying to get their blood temperature up so they could start
to feed. Turtles in Maine spend winter in a total water environment
under the surface layer of ice. Their metabolism slows down so that
they don’t need to eat while they are under water. As reptiles, turtles
need to breath to survive, and under water for months you would think
that they would drown. However, there are miniature blood vessels in
their neck and anus that can extract oxygen out of the water as they
hibernate under the ice. Pretty amazing to think that turtles can
actually breathe through their.......you know........bottom.
by Austin |
2003 TURTLE CRUISE | |
2003 TURTLE CRUISE | |
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