Preliminary results of EUROPONDS: early researchers shedding light on overlooked water bodies

Whilst being generally small and shallow lentic water bodies, ponds provide valuable habitats for a multitude of groups and contribute to habitat connectivity. Semi-aquatic insects emerging from such ponds act as one of the most important vectors of dietary energy to the adjacent terrestrial environment. By providing essential fatty acids, emerging insects constitute an important nutritional food resource for terrestrial (e.g. spiders, lizards, ants) and aerial (e.g. bats, birds) consumers. Broad-scale studies are needed to explore differences in dietary exports encompassing diverse pond types and different landscapes or regions, with the final aim of drawing general patterns. Herein we present the first results of "EUROPONDS". In this ongoing project we quantify the seasonal and spatial variation in insect emergence. In a total of 55 ponds distributed across Europe we installed emergence traps for one week per season over a full year. This broad scale set-up allows us to quantify differences in biomass export between different geographical regions, between rural and urban systems as well as between natural and artificial ponds. The project brings together the knowledge of 80 early-career limnologists from all over Europe and therefore not only provides important insight in the aquatic-terrestrial linkages of ponds, but also provides an important exchange among the future generation of European limnologists.