Ongoing sampling for the SITES AquaNet and Aquacosm experiment

20 July 2022

Friday was the second big sampling day for the SITES AquaNet and Aquacosm mesocosm experiment. The experiment is examining the impact of changes in run-off on lake plankton communities since rainfall patterns, and thereby run-off, are expected to be impacted by climate change. Becuase of the diversity of size within planktonic communities and the wide range of factors that can impact both zoo- and phytoplankton, there are a wide range of samples being taken throughout the experiment including; DOC, dissolved nutrients, chlorophyll, phytoplankton, zooplankton, and greenhouse gasses.

 

You can’t always see what is being filtered out of water samples with your naked eye, but Lake Erken has a genus of cyanobacteria called Gloeotrichia which forms large colonies that can be easily spotted. These colonies are only one of the many species found in the mesocosms, but during summer they do make up a large part of the biomass.  

Nutrient and DOC additions follow sampling. Shown below, Stella Berger mixes one of the mesocosms while Silke Langenheder adds nutrients and Jens Nejstgaard tries not to get blown away. Luckily the AquaNet platform is shielded by the dock so it remains relatively stable even in stormy weather. 

We look forward to sharing the results of the study in the future!