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Pond ecosystems

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  • Pond ecosystems

    I'm sure this is an extremely elementary question, but I've wondered this most of my life. How is it that, say, ponds with no connection to larger greater water systems tend to have the same ecosystems as other ponds? Around here, catfish tend to be populated in most ponds even if they are not necessarily stocked for fishing purposes. Is this just how convergent evolution tends to work?

    Oh, and since I'm not really in the mood for trolling, I will ask that Omniskeptical not post in this thread.
    "I am not angered that the Moral Majority boys campaign against abortion. I am angry when the same men who say, "Save OUR children" bellow "Build more and bigger bombers." That's right! Blast the children in other nations into eternity, or limbless misery as they lay crippled from "OUR" bombers! This does not jell." - Leonard Ravenhill

  • #2
    Are you sure there are catfish in ponds that haven't been stocked or connected to stream or larger water body?

    K54

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    • #3
      Originally posted by klaus54 View Post
      Are you sure there are catfish in ponds that haven't been stocked or connected to stream or larger water body?

      K54
      No, I'm not actually sure of that. It's just the impression I've had from reading fishing materials.
      "I am not angered that the Moral Majority boys campaign against abortion. I am angry when the same men who say, "Save OUR children" bellow "Build more and bigger bombers." That's right! Blast the children in other nations into eternity, or limbless misery as they lay crippled from "OUR" bombers! This does not jell." - Leonard Ravenhill

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      • #4
        Well, in any case I don't see how convergent evolution would anything to do with isolated ponds (which are geologically ephemeral features.

        A biologist should address this question.

        K54

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        • #5
          Originally posted by KingsGambit View Post
          I'm sure this is an extremely elementary question, but I've wondered this most of my life. How is it that, say, ponds with no connection to larger greater water systems tend to have the same ecosystems as other ponds? Around here, catfish tend to be populated in most ponds even if they are not necessarily stocked for fishing purposes. Is this just how convergent evolution tends to work?
          The simple answer is that pond ecosystems will exert roughly the same selection pressures on the local species. It's not actually the same thing as convergent evolution, since convergence comes from different lineages. You're looking for parallel evolution.

          I had wondered about this same issue when I was younger. I'm pretty sure that catfish specifically can survive in much shallower waters than we might think. Unless it's a man-made pond that is completely isolated from other water sources (unlikely), there probably is a connection that you're unaware of. I know that happens in Texas in spring when creeks and rivers connect bodies of water that generally aren't connected in the drier months. We're not usually fishing in the wet months, so it's easier to not notice when the bodies of water are connected.
          I'm not here anymore.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by KingsGambit View Post
            I'm sure this is an extremely elementary question, but I've wondered this most of my life. How is it that, say, ponds with no connection to larger greater water systems tend to have the same ecosystems as other ponds? Around here, catfish tend to be populated in most ponds even if they are not necessarily stocked for fishing purposes. Is this just how convergent evolution tends to work?
            No, it's usually caused by interpond transport during floods.

            Roy
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            • #7
              Originally posted by Roy View Post
              No, it's usually caused by interpond transport during floods.

              Roy
              Thanks; what would this process normally look like practically speaking?
              "I am not angered that the Moral Majority boys campaign against abortion. I am angry when the same men who say, "Save OUR children" bellow "Build more and bigger bombers." That's right! Blast the children in other nations into eternity, or limbless misery as they lay crippled from "OUR" bombers! This does not jell." - Leonard Ravenhill

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              • #8
                Originally posted by KingsGambit View Post
                Thanks; what would this process normally look like practically speaking?
                Ponds merge in flood waters becoming one really big pond. Critters migrate around, bringing plants/seeds along. Water is also often tumultuous which further spreads critters and plants. As flood waters recede, critters that can scramble into the deepest nearby hole, plants are washed along and ponds become isolated once more, but with all the critters/plants mixed up now.


                Of course, some catfish cheat and actually walk across the divide...
                "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by KingsGambit View Post
                  Thanks; what would this process normally look like practically speaking?
                  Like this:

                  flood.jpg

                  Roy
                  Jorge: Functional Complex Information is INFORMATION that is complex and functional.

                  MM: First of all, the Bible is a fixed document.
                  MM on covid-19: We're talking about an illness with a better than 99.9% rate of survival.

                  seer: I believe that so called 'compassion' [for starving Palestinian kids] maybe a cover for anti Semitism, ...

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