A pond is an artificial reservoir created for certain economic purposes. For example, such: breeding fish and waterfowl, water supply for something or irrigation of land, according to sanitary standards or sports, and so on. The purpose of creation and the volume predetermine what the pond ecosystem will be like.
Artificial water bodies should have systems for regulating the flow and inflow of water, depending on the sources of its receipt.
The larger the volume of water, the more stable the ecosystem, the more capable it is of self-regulation and restoration. It is more viable and does not require increased attention and control from its creator.
The ecosystem of a pond, like any other, is a collection of living organisms that exist in certain, in this case, predetermined conditions and interact with each other and with the environment. The species diversity, as in another reservoir with stagnant water, is low.
Plants
The basis of any water body is plants. They are producers in the trophic chain. These include green and blue-green and other unicellular algae. These and other plant species are producers of primary nutrition for all living ecosystems – carbohydrates and oxygen, synthesizing them from carbon dioxide and water under the influence of solar energy.
The amount of light entering and penetrating into the depths of the reservoir and the seasonal circulation of water are such that the smaller they are, the greater the amount of green mass can be produced. It is this feature, left without proper attention, that transforms the pond into a swamp.
Food chain
The smallest living organisms of the pond are ciliates, cyclops, rotifers and daphnia. These are the most primitive consumers. They feed on bacteria and organic decay. These are mosquitoes, beetles and so on.
Organic residues on the “bottom” feed on crustaceans, and some species of fish do not disdain. For example: catfish. Fish – pike perch, pike, crucian carp, carp, rudd and others are on the next step in the food chain.
At the very top of the food chain are waterfowl. Such as: goose and duck, herons and bitterns, chickens and sandpipers, otters and nutria.
Close the cycle of organic substances – saprophytic bacteria, fungi and worms, which convert them into inorganic. The purity and transparency of water depends on them. The bottom accumulates a significant amount of silt, fallen leaves, organic waste and dead animals. If no additional organic fertilizers or exotic species of living organisms are introduced into the ecosystem, then the decomposers – destroyers will cope, and the reservoir will be in the proper form and condition.
