I look at agriculture as a simplified ecosystem. In most ag systems, we have simplified things to maximize production of one strain (variety or hybrid) of a single crop species in an annual cycle. To me, this illustrates the complexity of managing ecosystems. Just taking a step toward perennial orchards or multi-crop vegetable systems requires a big jump in expertise, management, and risk. Fortunately, most of us do not count on our ponds for food! Food-based aquaculture systems follow the agricultural model of single species and batch production. That said, we can have a lot of influence on our pond ecosystems. The trick is to have the effect we desire:)