Virtual Museum of Canada

WATERS OF LIFE

LIFE UNDERWATER

VEGETATION - ENVIRONMENT AND ADAPTATIONS

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Great Blue Heron flying over the Île de Grâce Bay.

Île de Grâce Bay

The large sheltered bays, gently sloping banks and shallow waters of Lake Saint-Pierre make it an ideal environment for vast stands of emergent and submerged plants to grow.

Dawn in the archipelago

Aquatic plants play an important role in slowing erosion by reducing the force of waves and retaining soil with their roots.

Ship in the waterway near a lighthouse at Lake Saint-Pierre

The plants form a kind of bulwark against the waves.

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Video of a yellow flower and leaves of Pond-lily among bullrushes

VIDEO - 0 min 12 s
This video shows the movement of water lilies and bulrushes in the wetlands.

Large leaves of Arrowheads in a marsh

Arrowheads

They also absorb suspended matter from the tributaries. This promotes sedimentation and improves water clarity.

Damselfly on a Water-lily leaf

Damselfly on a Water-lily leaf

Aquatic plants provide habitat for an abundant and varied fauna.

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Great Blue Heron with a fish in the beak

The Great Blue Heron hides among the stems to fish undisturbed.

Least Bittern perched on stalks of cattails.

A smaller wader, the Least Bittern, hunts insects from the stems or leaves of cattails. This rare bird, classified as vulnerable in Quebec, also makes its nest out of cattails.

Black Tern nest with eggs

The Black Tern uses aquatic plants to build its nest.

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Black Tern nest with young birds

Aquatic plants are an ideal place for Black Tern chicks to hide from predators.

Young Common Moorhen paddling

The same is true of Common Moorhen chicks.

Common Moorhen walking on leaves of aquatic plants.

Common Moorhen

This bird walks on the leaves of aquatic plants, hunting insects and gastropods.

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Two muskrats on a large branch

Muskrats are very common in the wetlands around Lake Saint-Pierre. These rodents eat cattail stems and leaves. Their homes are built of branches.

LIFE UNDERWATER

VEGETATION