Pondtopia

            A retention pond hardly seems the place to begin a natural history.  These artificial bodies of water, constructed by land developers to keep rainwater from flooding any nearby basement are not the first place people would congregate to observe the living world. And yet here I am. Eyeballing the waters of a exactly this sort of pond when riding the bus home one day, I saw it crammed with a variety of plants and mallard ducks. All too often humans passing by- people just ignore the pond’s beauty and throw the soda can they were drinking straight into it without thinking twice about it. Litterers just see this retention pond as the garbage dump of nature. Since, people already see trash strewn all over the banks and in the ponds water they contribute too by throwing their trash in there as well. This truly makes me agitated and livid because this disrupts the ecosystem that currently resides in these waters. For example, if a Canadian goose or mallard duck see one of these pieces of trash which as foreign object to them, these birds my ingest these plastics or trash particles. All of this could simply cause their lives to end because of the carelessness of humans not respecting nature and not properly disposing of their trash.

 I also believe that this pond needs a turbidity and Ph test to see what kind of pollutants are actually in this water from all the runoff that drains into it. All of the pollutants that are in this pond may in the long run really affect the life of all the species living in this particular area.  Then, that’s when I decided that this would be my spot to get to know and become one with.

A retention pond is a manmade structure whose purpose is to keep excess water from flooding areas being used by humans when it rains. The ponds are created for parking lots and housing developments, “Retention ponds capture diverted storm water runoff from these surfaces.” (www.usouthal.edu)  The ponds provide two key benefits. First, they hold the runoff before freeing it into larger bodies of water nearby. They let go of the water at the flow rates and frequencies similar to those that occurred under natural conditions. The flood volume detained in a retaining pond decreases the stress on downstream storm water systems.  The second use of the retaining ponds is that they offer pollutant extraction through settling and biological uptake. (www.usouthal.edu) This is exactly what the retention pond behind my apartment complex is doing. When the weather gets rainy or stormy all the water flows through the parking lot and drains into the retention pond to stop all the major flooding that would occur if the pond wasn’t there. It does put a damper on this irreplaceable place that all the run off pours into this pond which harms the species and pollutes the water, but it’s going to happen anyway.

            The first time I walked over to my retention pond it was an enjoyable warm day. I sat down and immediately noticed this place is actually really cool. This pond had a very interesting and unique vibes around it. Everything was lively and made me feel more connected with nature in a way that I have never been before. Sitting or walking around this area week after week gave me more and more love for this place. A biophilic bond was created. As Edward O. Wilson puts it, “There is an instinctive bond between human beings and other living systems.”

There was so much life everywhere I looked. The Southern Leopard frog, for example.    As I stood up again and took a single step, the Southern Leopard Frog (Rana sphenocephala) just hopped right into the water and made a little croak that sounded like a cat’s meow. Relying on its sensitivity to touch as much as its ability to hear, the frog had felt my approaching feet through the ground. The frog is striking in appearance: “Large and slender, grows up to 5 inches long. Has green and brown with dark black spots on their sides. Leopard frogs have light-colored dorsolateral ridges (raised lines on their backs). They also have a light stripe along their jaw, nocturnal, and can leap several feet at a time.” (www.fcps.edu) Their leaping skills are so effective that I can never catch one. They are not only quick, but also leap a great distance into the water. I have made it a goal that I will catch one and finally analyze it in my own hands. I would then finally be able to say that I connected to this frog, having to get close enough to observe in detail this magnificent cold blooded species.

The cattails (Typha angustifolia) looked so beautiful just swaying in the breeze. “Usually many plants are grouped together. They grow to about nine feet long, with unbranched, stiff stems with sword-like leaves. The leaves of the narrow variety are thinner. The plant has a flower spike about six to 12 inches long which is made up of tiny, closely packed, dark brown flowers.” (Freer) Cattails provide more than homes to species. They can also provide people with food. For example, Nature writer Euell Gibbons has called cattails "the supermarket of the swamps.” (Freer) It is known that people who are around cattails would never starve since they are edible and a good source of nutrients for humans. Plus, this species can be used to make furniture or many other items that can be used on a daily basis. This plant is very widespread and can do so many more things, than just sit in a pond.

The cattail was certainly my favorite and intrigued me the most out of any species in this pond. This first time I saw one I picked it and observed everything about it. I loved touching its spongey outside and then when I broke open the cattail all I saw was big clumps of fluff. The seeds that exploded out of the cattails were carried into the wind like tiny miniature clouds drifting away. This plant species is just so unique and delicate, which just provides so much. I personally believe that the cattail was the keystone species of my pond. Every species is somehow affected or uses the cattails in some type of way. Without the cattails present there would be a missing link in this small embodiment of water. I highly enjoyed watching this plant develop over the observations weeks by discovering its uses. Plus, I loved seeing these cattails in different forms, such as in its regular known form, as seeds, and as a huge fluffy explosion of natural beauty.

Looking down into the water I see Water Striders (Gerris remigis) dancing on the surface like little ballerinas. These are very special insects who can live a long time, even throughout cold winters. They tend to hide in the cattails that are everywhere in the pond and have very interesting survival skills. For example, “The short front legs of a water strider are for grabbing prey. The middle legs push the insect forward, and the hind legs steer. The shape of their legs and their light weight keep them from breaking through the surface.” (www.fcps.edu) Also, Water Striders must always keep pirouetting and twirling, so they don't become prey themselves to fish or other predators that rely on these special dancing insects for food. These insects do not have wings and are usually in bulky groups that prefer the security of overhanging trees along with shade. (www.fcps.edu) These insects that look like giant mosquitos gliding on the top of the water are also preyed upon by the southern leopard frog and bigger fish. Without these species in this pond several links in this ecosystem would be missing.  A whole section of the food chain would have been thrown. Every species offers some type of interlocking connection with all the other species nearby. Without these trophic levels residing in this pond, it would not be thriving as it is. It’s amazing that this unnatural place that began artificially has welcomed nature with open arms to come and dwell. There are so much biodiversity and living habitats for each species that live in this retention pond. Ferns, tall grasses, cattails, duckweed, various insects and amphibians can live under, and many other aquatic plants. It’s truly amazing how much life is in this pond and people just walk or drive past it every day without giving it a second glance.

When I got around to the other side of the pond I noticed that there was a lot of trash lining the banks or bottles just bobbing around in the water. But, what really set me off was the huge pile of burnt trash just sitting there. Many Canadian Geese (Branta canadensis) or Mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) could potentially harm themselves by swallowing or getting entangled in this mess. It’s just so terrible and inhumane, how people can carelessly throw things away in something else’s living environment. Many of us humans have lost touch with nature that it’s crazy. People seriously need a reality check to realize there are still living things around us that have a same right to thrive in their own habitat just as humans do in theirs.

But a paradox ensues. With all of the litter that is strewn in and around this pond some species may have learned to live under these irregular items or use them as a shelter to protect them from predators. So, the bigger mammals and birds can be harmed by all of these foreign objects, but frogs or salamanders run to the litter for protection and shelter. Thus, if I move the trash to protect some species from dying, this can also disrupt habitats for other creatures. But, I still believe that if people didn’t litter this pond in the first place all the species that do rely on litter for habitats would have found natural ones and would be better off in the long run by not living among the chemical the contaminants introduced by the litter.

My overall experience in spending time here observing the living world was a success. I have gained new adventures, treasures, and knowledge by connecting to the natural world. I certainly know a lot more than I did at the start of these observations and now possess a lot more respect for places that are not instantly beautiful at first glance. Chances need to be taken to understand places and things that are living in not so appealing places. These types of places have much beauty, they just need to be discovered in the right way.

-  Catie Burkowske