Pond conservation: from science to practice

Abstract

In Europe, ponds are an exceptionally numerous and widely distributed landscape feature forming a major part of the continental freshwater resource and contributing significantly to freshwater biodiversity conservation. This has been reflected by a growing scientific concern over the first few years of the twenty-first century and is evidenced by an increasing number of academic publications on pond related topics, particularly those relating to biodiversity. It is essential, however, that this expanding scientific knowledge is widely disseminated to those involved with pond management and is then rapidly translated into action. Inevitably, the task of transferring science to practice remains a significant challenge. As a first step towards meeting this challenge the European Pond Conservation Network (EPCN), at its biennial meeting in 2008 in Valencia (Spain), made this the main theme of the conference together with two special workshops further encouraging exchanges between scientists, practitioners and policy makers. The papers selected for this special issue of Hydrobiologia (from over 120 communications presented) are all from the conference. They represent a diverse collection of themes from across the continent and North Africa and present new and original insights into topics as wide ranging as: pond biodiversity; human disturbance; landscape ecology; ecological assessment and monitoring; practical management measures; ecological restoration; hydrology and climate change; invasive species and threatened species. In all cases, the papers demonstrate an overriding need for the development of a tight link between scientific knowledge and management. Furthermore, scientific advances have to be beneficial for on the ground management and, vitally, have to be disseminated, communicated and implemented into local, national and international policy. As such, national and international networks (such as the EPCN) have a central role to play and have to develop a robust information and communication strategy which will enable the dissemination of best practice materials and advice across the continent and beyond. The work contained in this volume represents a step in the right direction and will help to ensure that ponds remain a characteristic and highly

Effects of Pond Fertilization and Feeding of Carp Fry (Cyprinus carpio L.) on Diversity of Zooplankton Groups (Rotifera, Cladocera, and Copepoda)

“…Our study of zooplankton in the experimental ponds in Gołysz confi rms the opinion of many authors [1][2][3] that ponds support high biodiversity. The zooplankton of the studied experimental ponds were characterized by a great species richness: 146 taxa, including 106 species of Rotifera, 28 species of Cladocera, and 12 species of Copepoda.…”

Vertical distribution of zooplankton in a shallow peatland pond: the limiting role of dissolved oxygen

“…There is a growing interest in the ecology of ponds (Oertli et al, 2009;Boix et al 2012) but plankton communities of peatland ponds are still poorly investigated. However, as these systems are generally oxygen-limited, the strong vertical stratification of plankton may be widespread in this habitat type and even in other ponds and pools with similarly high productivity.…”

Ecological Drivers of Cladoceran Diversity in the Central European City (Łódź, Poland): Effects of Urbanisation and Size of the Waterbody

“…Whilst interest and research on pond biodiversity has increased more recently (Oertli et al, 2009;Céréghino et al, 2014), ephemeral and urban ponds remain some of the most poorly studied waterbodies scientifically. Ponds are common and abundant features in the urban landscape (there are estimated to be between 2.5 -3.5 million garden ponds in the United Kingdom (Davies et al, 2009b)), many have been anthropogenically built for a variety of purposes including; flood reduction, water treatment, public amenity and to promote urban biodiversity Briers, 2014;Hassall, 2014).…”

“…There has been an increasing volume of published research on perennial and ephemeral pond biodiversity (Oertli et al, 2009) in both northern (Jeffries, 1991;Boothby et al, 1995a;Guest, 1997;Jeffries, 2011;Hassall et al, 2012) and southern UK (Rundle et al, 2002;Williams et al, 2003;Bilton et al, 2009;Armitage et al, 2012;Sayer et al, 2012 (Lott, 1999, unpublished data). At least one Red Data Book species was recorded from 26 of the 30 pond sites.…”

“…Precipitation fluctuations will affect the thermal mass, increasing mean annual pond water temperature, reducing dissolved oxygen and affecting the pond community composition (Matthews, 2010). Ponds may act as refuges and stepping stones in the northward and altitudinal shift of species (Oertli et al, 2009). …”