When we talk about migration we usually mean that animals are moving a long way, usually at a certain season.

If animals live in a pond all the time, they probably are not migrating. Some do move to different places at different times, though.

Sometimes fish stay on the edges of ponds after they hatch. This makes it harder for big fish to eat them. The little fish can hide in the weeds and move in places too small for the big fish. When they get older, they move into deeper parts of the pond.

Frogs hatch in ponds. As they grow from tadpoles to adults, they grow legs and move onto dry land.

Some small shrimp-like animals stay in the dark, deep parts of the pond during the day so that hungry fish won’t see them. They move toward the surface at night to eat tiny bits of food in the water. The dark protects them from being seen.

Turtles and frogs may spend the winter buried in the mud at the bottom of the pond.

Can you think of any reasons an animal might leave a pond to go to another one or to go on land?

You may be interested in studying animal behavior or aquatic biology.

There are several species of fish that migrate between freshwater sources (examples: rivers and lakes) and saltwater sources (example: the ocean). These kinds of fish are called diadromous fish. A couple of examples are salmon and trout.