There are three million farm ponds in the United States. They are mainly constucted for cattle watering, irrigation, or erosion control. Some ponds are created by beavers and floods. Some ponds are created by bulldozing or blasting a basin. Most shallow ponds contain warm water species such as largemouth bass, catish, and panfish. Deep ponds also contain trout.
There are two different types of ponds. They are farm ponds, and beaver ponds. Farm ponds usualy contain largemouth bass, and bluegills. Channel catfish are very popular in the southern farm ponds. Bluegills have a powder-blue coloring on the lower part of the gill cover. Catfish can survive well in a pond as their diet consists of fish, fish eggs, insect larvae, mollusks, crustaceans, and aquatic plants. Farm pond are very important to wildlife. They provide recreation as in swimming or fishing. They attract songbirds, wild animals, game birds, and waterfowl. Some ponds can can sppoert 100 to 1000 pounds of fish per acre. Algae blooms and grows in a pond giving the pond its rich green color. This algae is an essential oxygen producer.
To prevent fish from dying or freezing in the winter, the pond should be at least twelve feet or more in depth over 1/4 of its area. Shallow ponds have to be aerated to prevent fish from dying or freezing in the wintertime.
Beaver ponds are often located along coldwater streams. Beaver ponds often contain trout. Beaver ponds along warmwater streams contain a mixture of species such as bass, pike, sunfish, and crappies. The largest sunfish are caught in ponds that have low sunfish populations.
Plants are very important in the pond environment. Plants prodce oxygen that helps to replenish the low oxygen levels in stagnant water. Most pond animals use the pond for protection from predators, and for food and shade. After plants decay they provde the pond with nutrients for pond organisms. Ponds also play an important role in the lives of birds. They use the ponds for drinking and bathing. Over 30 species of birds have been sighted in and around ponds. It is known that if ponds are left undisturbed that they will usually fill up with decayed plants and then turn into marshy ground. This process can take up to 100 years.
Ponds are very important to the lives of cows. The cows use the pond to cool in. Cooling pond are usually located in an area with a continuous fresh water supply.
