Abstract
Urban stormwater ponds in Singapore are interspaced among the industrial and residential areas of this highly urbanized country and represent potentially harsh artificial habitats in which freshwater fish communities might be limited to low numbers of just a few hardy species. A recent first-time survey of three large urban ponds in Singapore, however, revealed that the fish communities in these ponds are greater in density and species richness than expected, with a combined richness of 24 species and fish densities ranging from 0.26 to 306.04 fish Ha -1 . These fish communities consisted of only alien species, with the dominant species being Amphilophus citrinellus. The connectivity of urban stormwater ponds to other freshwater systems in Singapore, including protected catchments with natural stream and swamp habitats that are refuges for native species, could make these habitats hotspots and beachheads for the invasion or spread of alien freshwater fish. This is a cause for concern and raises the need for more stringent regulatory controls of fish releases into these ponds.
Highlights
The relative importance of natural or man-made ponds has only recently been recognized in many countries (Cereghino et al 2008)
Fish density was highest for A. citrinellus amongst all species caught across all ponds
Density comparisons of species that were found in all three ponds indicated that highest density of A. citrinellus was found at Yishun pond (306.04 fish Ha-1), with slightly lower densities at both Pang Sua and Woodlands
Summary
The relative importance of natural or man-made ponds has only recently been recognized in many countries (Cereghino et al 2008). In most countries, such relatively smaller ponds can greatly outnumber larger water bodies (Oertli et al 2005). Studies on man-made ponds have so far focused primarily on water quality in urban ponds (Shaw et al 1997; Durant et al 2004) or on non-native fish species or phytoplankton in peri-urban ponds in temperate countries (Copp et al 2005; Peretyatko et al 2007; Peretyatko et al 2009; De Backer et al 2010). Construction and concretization of these ponds have resulted in similar artificial and harsh environmental conditions (e.g. high turbidity) which would lead us to expect a low abundance or diversity of fish in such habitats
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