Hydrarch - Ecology

Its various stages are well studied in ecosystem like ponds, pools and lakes. Since pond is a fresh water ecosystem, the succession in it is also referred to as hydrosere. Succession in pond, begins by colonisation by the pioneers like the phytoplanktons, and finally terminates into a forest which is a climax community. As succession progresses, changes take place in the kind of vegetation as well the associated animal life. The whole process of succession or the hydrosere is further subdivided into a number of stages depending on the kind of organism(s) dominating a stage.

Figure: Hydrosere in a pond ecosystem. The pond is gradually converted into a forest ecosystem. Sediments begin to accumulate, and a series of biotic communities develop until the mature ecosystem is reached