Restoration of a pond: monitoring water quality and macroinvertebrate community succession

Abstract

To determine the success of restoration programmes, knowledge of the temporal dynamics in community structure and processes is vital. The water quality and macroinvertebrate community structures of a newly created and an established pond within the same ecosystem were sampled bi-monthly over a year to monitor the development of the new pond. The water quality measures of the ponds were significantly different. Conductivity, salinity, and total dissolved solids levels were also different between the ponds. The colonisation of a macroinvertebrate community in the new pond was rapid, resulting in a 75% resemblance to the established pond by the end of the first year. The pond was colonised by non-insect taxa like Crustacea and Gastropod and then by insects. There was a significant difference in the macroinvertebrate communities of the ponds due to temporal taxonomic composition differences. The high abundance of Diplacodes spp. (perchers), Physa spp. (left-handed pond snail), and Ostracod (seed shrimp) in the new pond contributed to the difference in the community between the two ponds. Cladocera (water fleas) dominated the macroinvertebrate community, and the highest abundance was recorded in August for both ponds. Our results suggest that a newly created pond can have a comparable macroinvertebrate community to nearby established ponds within a year.