On a bare rock, lichens are the pioneers, breaking down rock to form soil. In a pond, it's rooted submerged plants like Hydrilla that start filling the basin with organic matter. The big difference isn't just the species, but the medium—rock is about creating soil, while a pond is about losing water and gaining land.
In my lake management work, I see the 'obvious' pond succession theory fail all the time. If invasive species like water hyacinth are the pioneer, they choke the lake too fast, leaving no room for the next seral stages—just a smelly, solid mat. Sometimes the textbook sequence gets hijacked, and you have to intervene.
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