pond water

• Freshwater pond ecosystem


  Freshwater ecosystems found throughout the UK that host a variety of freshwater species
• Freshwater pond ecosystem


  • Under influence from a variety of different abiotic (non-living) components
  • Factors such as light, water and oxygen availability change in a relatively small area, like from the edge of the pond to the bottom
  • Creates a diverse ecosystem with different biotic (living) components adapted to varying environmental conditions
• Components of a freshwater pond ecosystem

  • Producers
  • Consumers
  • Decomposers
• Producers


  Organisms that convert energy from the environment (mainly sunlight) into sugars (glucose)
• Producers in a freshwater pond ecosystem


  • Algae
  • Microscopic plants
• Consumers


  Organisms that receive energy from consuming (i.e. eating) living organisms
• Primary consumers


  Organisms that eat producers
• Secondary consumers


  Organisms that eat primary consumers
• Decomposers


  Break down organic material (e.g. dead plants and animals or faeces) and release the nutrients from this organic material into the soil
• Decomposers in a freshwater pond ecosystem

  • Bacteria
  • Worms
  • Maggots
• Nutrient cycling in a freshwater pond ecosystem

  1. Rocks and minerals break down by weathering, which releases nutrients into the soils

  2. Chemicals in the atmosphere can be washed out within precipitation

  3. Special bacteria can absorb chemicals from the air and store them in soil

  4. Animals and plants die, and decomposers break up their organic matter into nutrients, which are put back into the soil
• Biotic and abiotic components of a freshwater pond ecosystem


  They influence and are connected to each other
• The freshwater pond ecosystem is delicately balanced
• Nutrients are substances that fuel plant and animal growth, such as nitrates and phosphates
• Food chains show how producers and consumers interact within the ecosystem
• Food webs demonstrate the complex relationships between producers and consumers in a freshwater pond