Pets and Wildlife

Pond owners should form community groups

In a recently published study, scientists identify the best ways to manage your garden pond to provide a haven for aquatic species such as insects and snails in urban areas.

The researchers provide various recommendations, one of which is that pond owners should form community groups to provide bugs with a mix of environments, helping them to thrive across neighbourhoods.

The findings have been published in the journal Insect Conservation and Diversity.

Dr Matthew Hill, lecturer in Ecology at Bournemouth University who led the study said there are an estimated 2.5-3.5 million garden ponds in the UK and they can add to local biodiversity if they are managed correctly. He added: “Many ponds are managed for aesthetic reasons or fishkeeping, rather than as habitats for wildlife. But if we can add biodiversity into the ornamental designs, they could provide an important freshwater resource in urban areas.”

In the new study, the Freshwater Habitats Trust carried out surveys of 30 ponds in Oxfordshire to collect data. This was analysed by Dr Hill which led to the following recommendations:

Have as big a pond as possible: The surface area of a pond should be at least five square metres to increase the number of bugs and snails that live there. Although pond-keepers need to understand any safety implications of having a bigger pond.

Increase the number of native plants in the pond: Plants are vital for providing food and keeping a balanced ecosystem in ponds. While some non-native plants are popular for ornamental reasons, they should be in the minority. Nonnative plants to avoid include Crassula helmsii (also known as New Zealand pigmyweed) Lagarosiphon major (curly waterweed), Elodea nuttallii (western waterweed) and Myriophyllum aquaticum (parrot's feather).

Top up with rainwater to reduce conductivity of the water. Simple devices are available to measure a pond’s conductivity. Lower conductivity levels will enable environmentally sensitive species to thrive. Fish food, potting compost from plants as well as natural contaminants can affect conductivity.

Although ornamental fish will feed on bugs, the researchers did not find evidence of them affecting biodiversity, however they noted that ponds in the study had low to moderate numbers of fish. Plants can provide a hiding place to reduce the risk of predation from fish.

Whilst Dr Hill and the team believe that it is important to have ponds with a rich array of species, they also advise it is important to manage ponds that are more ecologically unique because they are contributing to the species pool.

This is where they believe that pond-keepers can come together to form community groups.

“People generally manage their ponds on an individual basis. It would better if they could be managed collectively as a group of ponds. We don’t want every pond to be the same, we want a wide range of environmental conditions for bugs. This has been recommended before for terrestrial garden management and could now be taken further to include water habitats,” Dr Hill concluded.

Protect your dog against Leptospirosis

By Lynwood Vets

The importance of vaccination of pets is not just to protect the health of your cat or dog but also their humans. In particular, there is a disease called Leptospirosis, which is more commonly known as Weil’s disease (pronounced ‘viles’). This is well known to canoeists and anglers as a waterborne disease, but the commonest source is from rats and other rodents. Dogs take great interest in the smell of rodent urine and are very susceptible to this condition, which causes a high fever, liver and kidney failure and is often fatal. Any mammal species can be infected by the bacteria, including humans.

An effective and safe vaccine has been included in the standard canine vaccination protocols for many years and has saved many lives. However, in recent years some new strains of leptospirosis have appeared in the southwest of England, which are not covered by the older vaccines. Lynwood vets have seen a few cases of dogs ill with leptospirosis that had received the old vaccine, and are urging all owners to vaccinate their dogs with the new ‘L4’ vaccine, to ensure they have protection against the new strains. The L4 vaccine is safe and effective against the new strains, but unfortunately unfounded claims of health risks have been spread online which has deterred some owners from using the vaccine. This has sadly resulted in some pets remaining at risk unnecessarily and potentially becoming infected.