Design features of constructed floodplain ponds influence waterbird and fish communities in northern New Zealand

Abstract

Abstract Ponds can provide important refuges for aquatic biota on developed floodplains and are increasingly being constructed in an effort to enhance native biodiversity and ecosystem services in degraded landscapes. This study examined 34 constructed ponds to investigate the influence of design features on community composition, native biodiversity, and the biomass or abundance of common fish and waterbirds on the lower Waikato River floodplain, northern New Zealand. Inundation frequency appeared to be a key factor affecting biomass of the native shortfin eel Anguilla australis and three invasive fish species (common carp [Cyprinus carpio], brown bullhead [Ameiurus nebulosus], and goldfish [Carassius auratus]), suggesting that colonisation occurred during flooding by adjacent waterbodies. Linear models indicated that shortfin eel abundance and total eel biomass were positively associated with the biomass of potential fish prey, the area occupied by islands and cover by trees in the riparian zone. Native waterbird species richness was strongly related to water area, edge length (including islands) and area:perimeter ratio, with little increase in richness for ponds >1 ha in area, perimeters longer than 800 m, and ratios over 20. The protected grey teal (Anas gracilis), and the recreationally hunted species phenotypically assigned as mallard (Anas platyrhynchos + hybrids) and grey duck (Anas superciliosa + hybrids) appeared most strongly influenced, respectively, by perimeter length, water depth, and biomass of potential macroinvertebrate food supplies, suggesting variable effects of pond design attributes among waterfowl species. Overall, these results indicate that constructed ponds can be designed to promote native waterbird diversity, enhance eel fishery and waterfowl gamebird services, and also limit the proliferation of some non‐native invasive fish species in degraded floodplain landscapes. A hierarchy of constructed pond design attributes was identified, involving landscape position and connectivity, pond morphology and complexity, and riparian maturity and buffering, which were associated with direct (habitat) and indirect (food supply, physicochemistry) effects on biodiversity and provisioning services.