I just don't see what was proven here? I'm glad that you apparently didn't suffer a winterkill event, but do you have any idea how close you did, or did not come? You stated that you cleaned 30% of the snow off a couple of times.....did that make the difference that saved your fish? Your pond is lined, while the vast majority of ponds are not...did that make a difference?
You also touched on population dynamics. A great many pond owners, especially new pond owners, may not have a feel for what their ponds are like in this regard. Trying to use one northern pond's parameters as the model for what is "survivable" in a generic sense is highly questionable at best, and downright dangerous at worst.
There are simply too many variables in play, many unseen and unaware of, to arrive at such a conclusion.
