Data from: The impact of conservation management on the community composition of multiple organism groups in eutrophic interconnected man-made ponds

Ponds throughout the world are subjected to a variety of management measures for purposes of biodiversity conservation. Current conservation efforts typically comprise a combination of multiple measures that directly and indirectly impact a wide range of organism groups. Knowledge of the relative impact of individual measures on different taxonomic groups is important for the development of effective conservation programs. We conducted a field study of 28 man-made ponds, representing four management types differing in the frequency of periodic pond drainage and the intensity of fish stock management. We disentangled the relative importance of direct and indirect effects of pond management measures on the community composition of phytoplankton, zooplankton, aquatic macro-invertebrates, submerged and emergent vascular plants. With the exception of phytoplankton, pond management had strong effects on the community composition of all investigated biota. Whether management affected communities directly or indirectly through its impact on fish communities or local environmental conditions in the pond varied between organism groups. Overall, the impact of pond drainage regime and fish community characteristics on the community composition of target organism groups were more important than local environmental conditions. The majority of taxa were negatively associated with fish density, whereas multiple emergent plant species and several taxa of aquatic macro-invertebrates were positively affected by increased drainage frequency. The effects of fish community and drainage tended to be largely independent. The present study indicates that pond drainage is an important element for biodiversity conservation in eutrophicated shallow and interconnected man-made ponds.全球范围内的各类池塘均会采取多种管理措施以达成生物多样性保护目标。当前的保护实践通常结合多项措施，这些措施可直接或间接影响广泛的生物类群。明晰单项管理措施对不同分类类群的相对影响，对于制定高效的保护方案至关重要。本研究针对28处人工池塘开展野外调查，这些池塘涵盖四种管理类型，其差异体现为周期性排水频率与鱼类种群管理强度的不同。我们解析了池塘管理措施的直接与间接效应，明确了其对浮游植物（phytoplankton）、浮游动物（zooplankton）、水生大型无脊椎动物（aquatic macro-invertebrates）、沉水与挺水维管植物群落组成的相对重要性。除浮游植物外，池塘管理措施对所有调研生物类群的群落组成均具有显著影响。管理措施究竟是通过影响鱼类群落或是池塘本地环境条件，进而直接或间接作用于群落，这一作用路径因生物类群而异。总体而言，池塘排水制度与鱼类群落特征对目标生物类群群落组成的影响，较本地环境条件更为关键。绝大多数分类单元与鱼类密度呈负相关关系，而多种挺水植物类群及部分水生大型无脊椎动物类群则随排水频率提升呈现正向响应。鱼类群落与排水措施的影响效应整体上基本相互独立。本研究表明，对于富营养化的浅水连通人工池塘而言，池塘排水措施是实现生物多样性保护的重要手段。