Fleet Pond is currently enjoying a spell of clarity thanks to the clear water creatures shown in this film.
The Pond’s water often appears cloudy. There are two main reasons for this: the quantity of fine silt transported by the two inflow streams and the number of algae in the lake. At present (April 2019), the water looks clear. Water quality of the inflow streams is currently satisfactory, but also the quantity of phytoplankton (algae) in the water column is low. This is because it’s grazed by a bloom of zooplankton. Zooplankton is made up of many types of microscopic animals; the largest and most obvious are the cladocerans, tiny crustaceans sometimes referred to as water fleas.
The relationship between phytoplankton and zooplankton is dynamic – populations of both will bloom and crash during the year depending on environmental and climatic factors.
Fleet Pond Society’s long-term aim is to replace the constantly changing algal population with a more stable community of rooted aquatic plants.