Question

Fishes survive in ponds even when the atmospheric temperature is well below 0 degrees. Why??

Answer 1

This is due to the anomalous expansion of water. When the at atmospheric temperature reaches 0° ice begins to form in ponds forming a layer on the top with water below it. As we know ice is a bad conductor of heat. After sufficient thickness of ice is formed it prevents further loss of heat from the bottom layers of water. This is why fishes and other aquatic animals and plants can survive in ponds and other water bodies even when the atmospheric temperature reaches or is well below 0°. If water did not have this property then it would be impossible for aquatic life to exist in water bodies in cold seasons.

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Answer 2

Explanation:

• Freshwater is densest at 4 C. When the water freezes, the ice forms a layer on the water surface, which acts as an insulator. In northern Maine the ice can exceed 3' in thickness in a cold winter, but it takes increasing cold for the ice to continue to thicken.

All of the aquatic animals except for mammals and birds are cold-blooded or ectothermic. As the temperature drops their biological processes slow down. This includes respiration, which uses oxygen. The amount of dissolved gasses water can hold increases with decreasing temperature, so the coldest water also holds the highest dissolved oxygen levels, which is, in turn, used more slowly. Many animals slow down enough so they go into a state of torpor which decreases their metabolic needs even more.

Other biological processes continue under the ice. Algae under the ice still photosynthesize slowly. Other cold-loving organisms are also active. Obviously trout, yellow perch and other fish are active and feeding, otherwise ice fishing wouldn't catch anything.

The unique properties of water allow animals to exist in freshwater year round. If water froze like other substances, where the solids settle to the bottom, lakes and ponds would freeze from the bottom up and many would freeze solid.