MSGID: 1:317/3 63f83d7f   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Urban ponds require attention to ensure biodiversity    
      
     Date:   
         February 23, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Helsinki   
     Summary:   
         New research suggests aquatic plants can be utilized as a tool to   
         enhance the co-existence between aquatic invertebrates and their   
         fish predators in urban ponds.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   Ponds are important part of urban green-blue infrastructure. They   
   provide city dwellers with many ecosystem services, such as recreation   
   and supporting biodiversity. Recreation, however, may conflict with   
   supporting biodiversity.   
      
   For example, fish introduced for recreational purposes can reduce the   
   diversity of aquatic invertebrates, which in turn may limit the value   
   of urban ponds for aquatic biodiversity conservation.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   A research team at the University of Helsinki investigated how aquatic   
   plants can be utilised as a tool to enhance the co-existence between   
   aquatic invertebrates and their fish predators in urban ponds.   
      
   Emergent plants, such as sedges, can enhance the occurrence of diving   
   beetles in a pond. Diving beetles are an indicator taxon of pond   
   biodiversity, and they have stronger needs for emergent plants as prey   
   refuges when fish is present in a pond. In ponds with fish, diving   
   beetles occur when approximately 40% of pond margins are vegetated by   
   emergent plants, such as sedges and cattails.   
      
   For comparison, in ponds with fish, diving beetles already have high   
   chance to occur when approximately 30% of margins are vegetated. This   
   is because diving beetles have lower predation risk in ponds without fish.   
      
   "In urban ponds, however, aquatic plants are sometimes removed to create   
   tidy appearance, but it is not really good for biodiversity, because   
   aquatic invertebrates need plants for various purposes, such as prey   
   refuges to hide from predators," says researcher and corresponding author   
   Wenfei Liao from the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences,   
   University of Helsinki.   
      
   The more aquatic vegetation, the better? Not always!  Diving beetles have   
   different needs for emergent plants at different scales. At the pond   
   scale, diving beetle presence is positively correlated with vegetation   
   cover.   
      
   However, when the team investigated diving beetle diversity in 1mx1m   
   microhabitats in the ponds, they found different patterns: The results   
   show, at the microhabitat scale, the effects of emergent plant cover on   
   diving beetle diversity are different between ponds with and without   
   fish. In ponds with fish, the more vegetation a microhabitat has,   
   the more diving beetle species and individuals are present. Yet, in   
   ponds without fish, the diving beetle diversity is not correlated with   
   emergent plant cover; that is to say, one may find a similar number of   
   diving beetle species in vegetated spots and non- vegetated spots. This   
   is because when fish is absent, diving beetles have low predation risk   
   and can seek food in both vegetated and non-vegetated spots.   
      
   "Vegetated spots in urban ponds are good starting places for city people   
   to observe aquatic insects and understand urban nature. However, we should   
   remember some insects, such as the larvae of some caddisfly species,   
   may prefer open water; therefore, in aquatic habitat management, it is   
   beneficial to maintain both vegetated and non-vegetated microhabitats to   
   keep habitat heterogeneity. This is to ensure urban ponds meet the needs   
   of different aquatic insects and support high aquatic biodiversity,"   
   concludes Liao.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Ecology_Research # Fish # Endangered_Plants # Fisheries   
             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Biodiversity # Ecology # Ecosystems # Exotic_Species   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Fishery o Whale o Water_hyacinth o Fish o Tree_frog o   
             Algal_bloom o Frog o Phosphate   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Helsinki. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Wenfei Liao, Stephen Venn, Jari Niemel�. Microhabitats   
      with   
         emergent plants counterbalance the negative effects of fish   
         presence on diving beetle (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) diversity in   
         urban ponds. Global Ecology and Conservation, 2023; 41: e02361 DOI:   
         10.1016/ j.gecco.2022.e02361   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/02/230223132904.htm   
      
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