Frozen Ponds Do Not Affect Ecosystems Within

With the recent wave of snow engulfing Europe, numerous ponds across many countries have frozen over on account of the chilly temperatures. Many people have voiced concerns that this is detrimental to the safety of creatures living under the ice, but experts seem to be in agreement – there is no reason for people to fear for the worst, when it comes to the trapped animals. They seem to be doing just fine, and are very likely to emerge unscathed when the surface unfreezes, the BBC News reports.

One of the main concerns that people had was the fact that the ice would prevent oxygen from reaching the water, in effect suffocating everything living within. However, a new set of studies conducted by the British group Pond Conservation has revealed that the opposite may actually be true. In small, frozen-over bodies of water, oxygen levels may actually be on the rise, which benefits all the fish and plant species living within.

The Director of Policy and Research at Pond Conservation, Dr. Jeremy Biggs, says that, although the standard practice is to drill holes in the ponds, to allow for oxygen to reach the water, this is unnecessary. In fact, the expert adds, it may be a lot better to simply let the ponds undergo their natural cycles. He believes that the animals and plants living within will suffer no ill effects from their isolation, and argues that they may actually be faring better with the ice on top of them. Naturally, this doesn't hold true if the creatures were to remain trapped for a few years, but, in the short run, there is nothing to worry about.

Knowing how to take care of ponds is extremely important, especially when considering that almost 80 percent of these bodies of water in the UK have been determined to be in poor or very poor states. Dr. Biggs believes that the key to successfully maintaining a pond is ensuring it is shallow, and also that it has a lot of vegetation. “Shallow ponds are better lit than deep dark ponds so can produce more oxygen for their volume. Ideally, also keep the pond water as clean and unpolluted as you can to help the submerged plants flourish,” he concludes.