When you are right, you are right.........
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Ed J edj22 at attglobal dot net
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"Ka30P" wrote in message
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EdJ wrote True, but it does not make any difference to the tadpole.
The smaller ornamental ponds do not freeze solid either. The
tadpoles go dormant or hibernate or something. They do
not need open water to breathe.
I have to respectfully disagree. It is a smart precaution to have a space
of
open water in the winter. For a couple reasons. Garden ponds have a lot of
organic matter to the amount of water they hold - consisting of critter
waste
and plant debris. This mix of stuff decomposes over the winter and gives
off
gases which can be toxic to the pond's inhabitants. Garden ponds usually
have a
much higher animal to water proportion so while a large pond can deal with
the
waste and debris and freeze over, a garden pond becomes toxic. Also
natural
ponds have an influx of water from other sources during the winter and
lined
garden ponds are closed systems. Without a hole open in the ice the pond
inhabitants can die as the gas cannot dissipate. Often times a new pond
can get
'away' the first winter without this precaution but the subsequent winters
will
catch up with it.
Tadpoles, like frogs, are ectotherms, or what we used to call
cold-blooded.
They slow down in the winter, go dormant, hang out, lay around. They do
take in
oxygen, but very little. They need the warmer temperatures to get their
engines
going. Their skins are relatively porous and they will absorb whatever
toxins
are laying around.
There are a few frogs who produce a glucose in their bodies that allow
them to
'freeze' solid but these are frogs that hibernate on land under the
ground.
kathy :-)
algae primer
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html