Pond Ecosystem

Pond Ecosystem: An ecosystem refers to a biological community that is made of different types of organisms. These organisms interact with each other to cater to environmental conditions. There are different types of ecosystems around us. The ecosystem may also be defined by the presence of surrounding environmental conditions. Some of the prime examples of ecosystems include pond ecosystems, forest ecosystems, ocean ecosystems and more.

The pond is an example of an ecosystem that is made in an area demarcated by overflowing water that has aquatic plants and animals. The different types of animals and plants in a pond ecosystem will interact with each other and the surrounding environment thereby forming an ecosystem. In the later sections of the article, we will be discussing the plant ecosystem in detail.

Pond Ecosystem: Definition

A pond ecosystem is a freshwater ecosystem that can either be temporary or permanent and consists of a wide variety of aquatic plants and animals interacting with each other and the surrounding aquatic conditions. The pond ecosystem falls under the category of a lentic ecosystem because the water remains stagnant for a longer period.

Types of Pond Ecosystem

There are the following types of pond ecosystems:

• Garden pond ecosystems: These are man-made artificial pond ecosystems that comprise ornamental plants and animal species exported from all over the world.
• Salt pond ecosystems: These ecosystems are naturally formed at the seaside and contain brackish water. These are formed due to waterlogging.  These can also be found in rocky areas on the beach called rock pools. Since it contains brackish water, it can accommodate sea plants and animals.
• Freshwater pond ecosystems: These ecosystems are naturally formed due to rainfall or soil water saturation due to continuous rain. Moreover, they can also be formed due to the flow of river water into a large and deep depression. These ecosystems serve as a home to freshwater fishes, amphibians, crustaceans, and many other kinds of wildlife.
• Venereal pond ecosystems: These are seasonal ponds that are temporarily formed during the heaviest rainfall due to the accumulation of water in the depressions in the ground. With the change in the season, they often turn into desert land.
• Mountain pond ecosystems: Naturally formed ponds are found in the mountain regions. These are formed due to the shifting of rocks and snow melting. They accommodate rare or endangered aquatic species.

Characteristics of Pond Ecosystem

The following are the main characteristics of the pond ecosystem:

• The water in the pond ecosystem is stagnant.
• Either natural or artificial boundaries surround the pond ecosystem.
• The pond ecosystem exhibits three distinct zones, the littoral zone, limnetic zone, profundal zone, and benthic zone.
• The biotic components of the pond ecosystem occupy different levels in the pond ecosystem, therefore, avoiding the competition for survival. Scavengers and decomposers occupy the bottom level, and fish occupy the middle level. The plants enclose the pond’s boundaries and provide shelter to small animals and insects.
• Pond ecosystems show a wide range of variety in their size.

Stratification in the Pond Ecosystem

Different factors such as distance from the shore, penetration of light, depth of water, plant and animal species, etc. determine the following zones found in the pond ecosystem:

• Littoral zone: It is the zone closer to the shore. It contains shallow water and allows easy penetration of light. Rooted plant species occupy it. Animal species include reeds, crawfish, snails, insects, etc.
• Limnetic zone: The limnetic zone refers to the open water of the pond with an effective penetration of light. This zone is dominated by phytoplankton. Animal species mainly include small fishes and insects.
• Profundal zone: The region of a pond below the limnetic zone is called a profound zone with no effective light penetration. Some amphibians and small turtles occupy it.
• Benthic zone: The bottom zone of a pond is benthic and is occupied by a community of decomposers. The decomposers are called benthos.

Abiotic Components of the Pond Ecosystem

Abiotic components are the non-living components of an ecosystem that matter for the aquatic species’ survival. There are the following main abiotic components of a pond ecosystem:

• Light: Light serves as a main abiotic component required for the photosynthetic activities of the phytoplankton. The littoral zone has the maximum light penetration, whereas the profound zone has the least light penetration.
• Temperature: As the depth of the pond increases, the temperature of the water gradually decreases due to the gradual decrease in the light penetration.
• Dissolved oxygen: The amount of dissolved oxygen is maximum in the shallow water and gradually decreases while moving from the surface to the depth of the pond.
• Dissolved oxygen: The amount of dissolved oxygen is maximum in the shallow water and gradually decreases while moving from the surface to the depth of the pond.

Biotic Components of the Pond Ecosystem

Biotic components are living components. A wide variety of living components are found in the pond ecosystem can be discussed as follows:

• Producers: These include species of rooted, submerged, emerged, floating plants and algae. The most common filamentous algae found in ponds is Spirogyra. Mougeotia and Zygnema are some other algae found in the pond. Azolla, Hydrilla, Pistia, Wolffia, Lemna, Eichhornia, Nymphaea, Potamogeton, Jussiaea, etc., are a few examples of green plants that are found in the pond ecosystem.
• Primary consumers:  A large population of zooplanktons are the main primary consumers. Besides these, small herbivores such as snails, insects, small fishes, tadpoles, and larvae of aquatic animals are the primary consumers often found in the pond.
• Secondary consumers: These include large animal species such as frogs, big fishes, water snakes, crabs, etc. The consumers of the highest order might include mammals like water shrews, water voles, herons, ducks, kingfishers, etc.
• Decomposers: These include different types of bacteria and fungi that feed upon dead and decaying parts of the aquatic species.

Food Chain in the Pond Ecosystem

• The food chain is a sequence of organisms in which each organism eats the lower member and is being eaten up by the next higher member.
• Phytoplankton and algae serve as producers that convert solar energy into chemical energy.
• Phytoplankton is being consumed by zooplankton (primary consumers).
• The food chain further proceeds with the small pond species that feed on zooplankton.
• Small pond species are eaten by large pond species.
• A number of bacteria and fungi feed on dead and decaying parts of the animal species and are therefore called decomposers. Decomposers convert the organic matter (dead plants and animals) into their inorganic components that are again utilised by producers, and hence a continuous flow of energy is maintained.

Importance of Pond Ecosystem

The importance of the pond ecosystem can be discussed as follows:

• Some aquatic plants help to improve the water quality by absorbing pollutants and heavy metals.
• The shoreline plants absorb nitrogen and phosphorus and therefore prevent the algal bloom and maintain the oxygen level in the pond. Moreover, aquatic plants absorb animal wastes to reduce the nutrient availability for plants and therefore prevent the growth of algae.
• The pond ecosystem is one of the sites for the conservation of biodiversity as different types of plants and consumers occupy different strata in the pond and live together by interacting with each other. Ponds in mountain regions conserve the endangered species.
• The pond ecosystem also serves as a source of water for the species that do not live in the pond.
• Pond ecosystems contribute to the beauty of nature as they accommodate a variety of ornamental flowering plants.
• Stratification in the pond ecosystem determines the distribution of animal species in the pond. It reduces the competition among the species to some extent.

Summary

An ecosystem is a functional unit of the biosphere. The biotic and abiotic components of any unit of the biosphere interact with each other, influence each other, and together constitute a dynamic system called an ecosystem. It can be recognised as a self-regulating and self-sustaining unit of the landscape. The pond ecosystem is an aquatic ecosystem that comprises several submerged, emerged,-floating plants and algae living together with different types of animal species. The pond is an example of an ecosystem involving aquatic animals and plants interacting with each other in an environment.

Stratification is one of the characteristic features of the pond ecosystem that determines the availability of essential abiotic factors such as light, oxygen, minerals, etc., to the different levels of depth in the pond. The availability of abiotic factors also determines the distribution of consumers and decomposers according to their need for different abiotic factors. This article is a sum-up of the different features and components of the pond ecosystem.

Frequently Asked Questions on Pond Ecosystem

Q.1. What are the three producers in a pond ecosystem?
Ans: Algae, Hydrilla, and duckweeds are the three producers in a pond ecosystem.

Q.2. What are the three abiotic components of a pond ecosystem?
Ans: Sunlight, dissolved oxygen, and mineral nutrients are the three main abiotic components of the pond ecosystem.

Q.3. What are the primary consumers in the pond ecosystem?
Ans: Zooplanktons are the primary consumers in the pond ecosystem.

Q.4. What type of microorganisms can we observe in the pond ecosystem?
Ans: Most abundantly found microorganisms in the pond ecosystem are bacteria and protozoans.

Q.5. What defines a pond?
Ans: A pond is a small water body containing fresh and shallow water that allows the light to penetrate through it and therefore supports life.