When it comes to structure, complex or simple.
Is there anything wrong with having little or no long term stationary structure but have temporary structure as in
Pond weed, chara, etc. 6-7 months a year. Dense, as in 50% of the pond . Then almost nothing when it all dies off in the late fall ?
The downside to that is when it dies back the forage base in the pond get hits HARD. It can get over eaten and have a hard time recovering in the Spring. Without cover in the pond the predators have to swim more to find food, and since they cannot ambush prey they expend more energy because they have less success in catching prey. They don't catch something to eat every time they try, so when they DO catch something it has to make up for all the calories burned in the previous unsuccessful attempts.
Structure = fixed things that are part of the pond. i.e. drop offs, humps or underwater rises, points going out into the pond, etc.
Cover = Temporary, movable things, even though they may be hard to move. i.e. weed beds, fallen trees, artificial cover, pine tree piles/pyramids, piles of pallets, piles of rocks, etc.
