Lunz Mesocosm Infrastructure (LMI)

Name
Lunz Mesocosm Infrastructure (LMI)
Legal name of organisation
WCL - WasserCluster Lunz
Country
Austria
Continent
Europe
Organisation address

1) WCL – WasserCluster Lunz
Dr. Carl Kupelwieser Promenade 5
A-3293 Lunz am See

2) Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management (IHG)
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU)
Max-Emanuel-Straße 17
1180 Wien

Primary contact information (PI)

1A) Dr. Robert Ptacnik
1B) Dr. Martin Kainz

2) Ao.Univ.Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Stefan Schmutz,
Dipl.-Ing. Stefan Auer

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Years of Mesocosm Experiments
1) 2012 - present 2) 2011 - present
Description of Facility

1A) WCL-Mesocosms-Ptacnik
40 land-based mesososms (320 L each); water pipes for aeration and mixing; exchangeable inner walls; app. 500 m from lake; local tab water suitable for experiments (not chlorinated)

1B) WCL-Mesocosms-Kainz
24 land-based mesososms (400 L each), temperatured controlled, aerated, temperature sensors, remote controlled

2) HyTEC
consists of two large channels (40 m length, 6 m width) fed with nutrient-poor lake water taken at different depths to vary water temperature. Peak flows of up to 600 l/s are produced to mimic hydropeaking, thermopeaking or extreme floods.
Channel size and morphology (slopes, structures substratum, etc.) is alterable, flow can be controlled, various experiments with different biological elements (fish, benthic invertebrates, algae, etc.) can be conducted in parallel (smaller sub-flumes within each large one) short-time and long-time experiments can be done simultaneously

Controlled Parameters

1A) WCL-Mesocosms-Ptacnik
Air flow; possibly shading; nutrient levels

1B) WCL-Mesocosms-Kainz
Temperature, air flow

2) HyTEC
Discharge, ramping rates of discharge, water temperature, substrate, channel morphology

Research Topics

1A) WCL-Mesocosms-Ptacnik
Role of dispersal for maintenance of diversity; diversity-functioning research in plankton communities

1B) WCL-Mesocosms-Kainz
Effects of temperature, heat waves, light, brownification on phytoplankton and zooplankton biodiversity and biochemical composition (elemental stoichiometry, fatty acids)

2) HyTEC
Hydropeaking-related effects on various aquatic organism groups (juvenile fish, macroinvertebrates and development of benthic algae) and ecosystem processes such as litter decay, primary production
Effects of thermopeaking, analyses of multiple pressures (discharge, nutrients and temperature)
Fish protection and fish guidance efficiency (experiments with a flexible fish fence)

Facility location(s)
47.8598408,15.030520
Primary interests
Specialist areas
Equipment

1A) WCL-Mesocosms-Ptacnik
Sampling gear; standard water chemistry; meshes for size fractionation; water pre-filtration for filling mesocosms

1B) WCL-Mesocosms-Kainz
Sampling gear, incl. plankton nets, water collection tubes, temperature gauges, heaters, aerators, computer controlled temperature systems, wooden cabin next to mesocosms Access to analyses (with costs)
Elemental analyses of C, N, S, O, H and stable isotopes, TOC analyser

2) HyTEC
Fully automated discharge and water temperature interface, datalogger, flow velocity measurement systems, remote-controlled (IR-) video system, electrofishing devices, sampling gears, several tanks for fish hatchery, etc.

Cooperation with WasserCluster Lunz: experiments (benthic algae), field equipment and laboratory-infrastructure (nutrient analyses, DOC analyses, microscopy, HPLC)

Lodging

Some guestrooms at WasserCluster Lunz; numerous guesthouses in Lunz am See

Photos of experiments/installations
1A) WCL-Mesocosms-Ptacnik: Land-based tanks at lake shore in Lunz
1B) WCL-Mesocosms-Kainz: Land-based tanks at lake shore in Lunz
2) HyTEC Facility: Aerial view
2) HyTEC Facility: Total view upstream direction
2) HyTEC Facility; Aerial view of adaptation for fish guidance experiments