FIG. 7-5 Plant sere at Bryant's Bog, Michigan, from open water through a narrow broicen mar stage or seage, 

 leatherleaf, a high shrub stage (in middle rear) of holly, to tamarack and black spruce (courtesy R.E. Rundus). 



it stage of sedge, a low shrub stage of 



Europe. It is cut out in blocks, dried, and used as 

 fuel. 



It is doubtful if the aquatic fauna of bogs is suf- 

 ficiently distinct or unique to constitute more than a 

 facies of the pond-marsh biocies. It is succeeded, 

 however, by a distinct shrub biocies that differs from 

 the deciduous forest-edge community. The shrub bi- 

 ocies is replaced by coniferoits forest biociafions. 



SUMMARY 



Ponds differ from lakes in that they are 

 generally small and shallow, and, when mature, have 

 rooted vegetation over most of the bottom. Bogs are 



limited to northern regions, contain a northern type 

 of vegetation, and are generally acid and deficient in 

 oxygen. As the climate of northern regions slowly 

 warms, stages in the bog plant sere are replaced by 

 corresponding stages in the pond plant sere. The 

 pond sere consists of six or more plant stages but 

 only three animal stages : pond-marsh biocies, decidu- 

 ous forest-edge biocies, and deciduous forest biocia- 

 tion. These animal communities correspond with the 

 types of vegetation in the plant sere, but not with the 

 plant communities identified by taxonomic composi- 

 tion of the plant dominants. The animal community 

 in bogs is an impoverished facies of the pond-marsh 

 biocies. 



The pond-marsh biocies contains plankton, ben- 



94 Habitats, communities, succession 



