Event Title
Assessing Zooplankton Trends in Great Pond Using FlowCAM Technology
Location
Parker-Reed, SSWAC
Start Date
1-5-2014 9:00 AM
End Date
1-5-2014 10:00 AM
Project Type
Poster
Description
Lakeshores are increasingly being transformed from their natural forested and wetland cover to developed lawns, sandy beaches, and impervious surfaces associated with residential development. These changes can affect lake water quality and littoral ecosystem function, largely through nutrient loading. Real-time ecological monitoring using sensory arrays for biogeochemical variables such as water pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen provides a data stream that allows scientists to develop a more complete picture of a water body and heighten understanding of processes like stratification and lake mixing. Colby College recently deployed a high-frequency monitoring buoy in Great Pond that collects such data. To determine possible relationships the buoy measurements and zooplankton population dynamics, we assessed the abundance and diversity of zooplankton using the FlowCAM, which recorded images and catalogued particle counts from the water samples. The water samples were collected from a site near the buoy and four other sites in Great Pond. Using the FlowCAM data, we determined the population trends of the most dominant zooplankton species found in Great Pond during the summer months of 2013. These trends will then be compared to the biogeochemical variables measured by the buoy.
Sponsoring Department
Colby College. Environmental Studies Program
CLAS Field of Study
Interdisciplinary Studies
Event Website
http://www.colby.edu/clas
ID
715
Assessing Zooplankton Trends in Great Pond Using FlowCAM Technology
Parker-Reed, SSWAC
Lakeshores are increasingly being transformed from their natural forested and wetland cover to developed lawns, sandy beaches, and impervious surfaces associated with residential development. These changes can affect lake water quality and littoral ecosystem function, largely through nutrient loading. Real-time ecological monitoring using sensory arrays for biogeochemical variables such as water pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen provides a data stream that allows scientists to develop a more complete picture of a water body and heighten understanding of processes like stratification and lake mixing. Colby College recently deployed a high-frequency monitoring buoy in Great Pond that collects such data. To determine possible relationships the buoy measurements and zooplankton population dynamics, we assessed the abundance and diversity of zooplankton using the FlowCAM, which recorded images and catalogued particle counts from the water samples. The water samples were collected from a site near the buoy and four other sites in Great Pond. Using the FlowCAM data, we determined the population trends of the most dominant zooplankton species found in Great Pond during the summer months of 2013. These trends will then be compared to the biogeochemical variables measured by the buoy.
https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/clas/2014/program/3