Ecology
How many plants and animals are in Lock Ness lake?
Dawn: This is a very interesting question, and probably nobody knows for certain. Although I've never been to Loch Ness myself, I've been fascinated with the place and it's rumors about a "monster" since I was in 5th grade. In fact, I am a scientist today in part because I became fascinated with zoology when I was in Elementary School trying to learn everything I could about Loch Ness. There are very few plants in Loch Ness. The water is very cloudy because of peat suspended in the water that comes into the Loch from the surrounding mountains. Since the sunlight can't get though the dark water to give the plants the needed energy to grow, plants don't do too well there. Even along the sides where the water is shallow and some light might get through, the wind whips up the waves and keeps water plants like reeds from being able to take root in most places. There are some species of algae (mostly microscopic) and mosses that live there, but otherwise there are few plant species. Regarding animals, there has not been too much research on many of the groups, but it would be likely that there are a couple hundred species of microscopic animals (plankton) that live there, and probably dozens of insects, crustaceans, worms, and snails. Among the larger animals, there are six main kinds of fish, including trout, pike, sticklebacks, char, eels, and an abundance of Atlantic salmon that lay their eggs in the streams that lead into Loch Ness. There are also many people in the area who claim to have seen a huge animal that they can't identify. Some scientists think it is a hoax to bring in more tourists. Others think there is a new species of animal waiting to be discovered, and they have even taken underwater pictures of what they believe to be the fin and perhaps head of one of the animals. The fin looked to be diamond-shaped, leading them to give this unknown animal the scientific name of Nessiteras rhombopteryx, which translates to mean "strange marvel of Ness with the diamond-shaped fin." Although the animal now has had a scientific name since 1975, there still has not been an actual specimen collected. What do you think? Do you believe there are animals in the Loch that have yet to be discovered? Many local people and visitors to the area swear to have seen something out there. It is an interesting idea that so far science has been unable to answer. For more information about Loch Ness and the animals that live there, your library will have many books on the subject of the Loch Ness Monster, and many of these books tell more about the animals known to live there (like the fish), and also tell more about why plants are so uncommon in the dark, peaty water. If you are like me, you will get so caught up in researching the mysteries of Loch Ness that you may suddenly find yourself becoming fascinated with biology and becoming a biologist yourself. I don't do research on Loch Ness, but I am still fascinated with it and hope to visit it one day soon. Good luck with your research! Dr. Mike