Abstract
Mid-field natural ponds promote regional biodiversity, providing alternative habitats for many valuable animal species. The study’s objective was to determine the most important abiotic factors, including hydrochemical and morphometric parameters, affecting fish occurrence in natural, small water bodies on agricultural lands. The studies were conducted in nine randomly selected water bodies located in Poland (the North European Plain). Eleven species of fish were recorded in the waterbodies, with the most abundant being cyprinids (mainly crucian carp). Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that an increase in oxygenation, temperature, amount of macrophytes, and K concentration and a decrease in the concentration of phosphates, electrical conductivity (EC), Mg, and Cl is associated with the most beneficial living conditions for the most frequently occurring species in the studied water bodies—crucian carp and tench. Aside from the hydrochemical parameters of water in the natural ponds, the number of fish correlates with the basin area and the pond area, maximum depth, area of the buffer zone surrounding the water bodies, and the number of macrophytes. This last factor also has a significant influence on the species’ abundance in the water bodies. Fish occurrences in mid-field ponds and common knowledge on their important role in the environment require taking steps to provide fish protection.
Highlights
The agricultural landscape of the North European Plain comprises moraine hills, as well as numerous lakes and small water bodies with an area of about 1–5 ha each, which make up almost half of the waterbodies [1]
All the water bodies selected for the studies were located on agricultural lands with varied basin management and use, and with high differentiation of depth and areas of the waterbodies, which had a potential effect on the values of water’s chemical parameters (Table 1)
Among three fish families found in the study waters, the dominant group with regard to the number of species were cyprinids, and the groups of esocids and percids included one species each
Summary
The agricultural landscape of the North European Plain comprises moraine hills, as well as numerous lakes and small water bodies with an area of about 1–5 ha each, which make up almost half of the waterbodies [1] Due to their small area, in Northern America they are called prairie potholes or sloughs or kettle holes, and in Poland they are referred to as mid-field water bodies or ponds [2,3]. According to the Pond Conservation Group [4], this concept is understood as a small body of water (between 1 m2 and 2 ha) that maintains water for at least a few months in a year Owing to their natural origin, they primarily occur in young glacial areas. Significant impact on the water balance on these lands is exerted by meteorological conditions (e.g., rainfall and snowfall), evapotranspiration, water evaporation, runoff, and the largest groundwater exchange [6]
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