Design and performance evaluation of a mesocosm facility and techniques to simulate ocean acidification and warming

Forecasting the ecological consequences of a changing climate requires a range of approaches, including the use of mesocosms in which multiple physical and chemical parameters can be manipulated and the response of interacting organisms quantified. Here, we describe the design and evaluate the perfo...

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Published in:Limnology and Oceanography: Methods
Main Authors: Falkenberg, L., Russell, B., Connell, S.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/2440/100486
https://doi.org/10.1002/lom3.10088
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spelling ftunivadelaidedl:oai:digital.library.adelaide.edu.au:2440/100486 2023-12-24T10:23:55+01:00 Design and performance evaluation of a mesocosm facility and techniques to simulate ocean acidification and warming Falkenberg, L. Russell, B. Connell, S. 2016 http://hdl.handle.net/2440/100486 https://doi.org/10.1002/lom3.10088 en eng Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) Limnology and Oceanography: Methods, 2016; 14(4):278-291 1541-5856 http://hdl.handle.net/2440/100486 doi:10.1002/lom3.10088 Russell, B. [0000-0003-1282-9978] Connell, S. [0000-0002-5350-6852] © 2016 Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/lom3.10088 Journal article 2016 ftunivadelaidedl https://doi.org/10.1002/lom3.10088 2023-11-27T23:17:35Z Forecasting the ecological consequences of a changing climate requires a range of approaches, including the use of mesocosms in which multiple physical and chemical parameters can be manipulated and the response of interacting organisms quantified. Here, we describe the design and evaluate the performance of a facility incorporating large mesocosms that can contain diverse biological assemblages within which CO₂ and temperature can be manipulated. The key infrastructure is: 15 covered mesocosms each with a maximum water volume of 2300 L, a gas mixer containing two mass flow controllers to produce CO₂-enriched air and an individual heater/chiller unit for each treatment mesocosm to independently regulate temperature. Our results report an initial proof-of-concept experiment (total of 100 d duration) in which we constructed communities of biota that characterise temperate Australian kelp forests (i.e., kelp, their key competitors and herbivores) and then undertook procedures designed to reproduce CO₂ and temperature conditions forecasted for the year 2100 (target differences in midday means: 0.15 pH units, 2.5°C). The system achieved the intended environmental conditions, with CO₂ and temperature in treatment enclosures consistently different from the controls (mean midday treatment effect ± SE; 0.15 ± 0.01 pH units and 2.6 ± 0.1°C, respectively), yet still tracking their diurnal fluctuations. The reliability of the facility over the experimental period indicates it is a robust and accurate tool that can mimic intended scenarios of CO₂ and temperature change, facilitating the study of the influence of these factors on marine organisms and their interactions. Laura J. Falkenberg, Bayden D. Russell, Sean D. Connell Article in Journal/Newspaper Ocean acidification The University of Adelaide: Digital Library Limnology and Oceanography: Methods 14 4 278 291
institution Open Polar
collection The University of Adelaide: Digital Library
op_collection_id ftunivadelaidedl
language English
description Forecasting the ecological consequences of a changing climate requires a range of approaches, including the use of mesocosms in which multiple physical and chemical parameters can be manipulated and the response of interacting organisms quantified. Here, we describe the design and evaluate the performance of a facility incorporating large mesocosms that can contain diverse biological assemblages within which CO₂ and temperature can be manipulated. The key infrastructure is: 15 covered mesocosms each with a maximum water volume of 2300 L, a gas mixer containing two mass flow controllers to produce CO₂-enriched air and an individual heater/chiller unit for each treatment mesocosm to independently regulate temperature. Our results report an initial proof-of-concept experiment (total of 100 d duration) in which we constructed communities of biota that characterise temperate Australian kelp forests (i.e., kelp, their key competitors and herbivores) and then undertook procedures designed to reproduce CO₂ and temperature conditions forecasted for the year 2100 (target differences in midday means: 0.15 pH units, 2.5°C). The system achieved the intended environmental conditions, with CO₂ and temperature in treatment enclosures consistently different from the controls (mean midday treatment effect ± SE; 0.15 ± 0.01 pH units and 2.6 ± 0.1°C, respectively), yet still tracking their diurnal fluctuations. The reliability of the facility over the experimental period indicates it is a robust and accurate tool that can mimic intended scenarios of CO₂ and temperature change, facilitating the study of the influence of these factors on marine organisms and their interactions. Laura J. Falkenberg, Bayden D. Russell, Sean D. Connell
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Falkenberg, L.
Russell, B.
Connell, S.
spellingShingle Falkenberg, L.
Russell, B.
Connell, S.
Design and performance evaluation of a mesocosm facility and techniques to simulate ocean acidification and warming
author_facet Falkenberg, L.
Russell, B.
Connell, S.
author_sort Falkenberg, L.
title Design and performance evaluation of a mesocosm facility and techniques to simulate ocean acidification and warming
title_short Design and performance evaluation of a mesocosm facility and techniques to simulate ocean acidification and warming
title_full Design and performance evaluation of a mesocosm facility and techniques to simulate ocean acidification and warming
title_fullStr Design and performance evaluation of a mesocosm facility and techniques to simulate ocean acidification and warming
title_full_unstemmed Design and performance evaluation of a mesocosm facility and techniques to simulate ocean acidification and warming
title_sort design and performance evaluation of a mesocosm facility and techniques to simulate ocean acidification and warming
publisher Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO)
publishDate 2016
url http://hdl.handle.net/2440/100486
https://doi.org/10.1002/lom3.10088
genre Ocean acidification
genre_facet Ocean acidification
op_source http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/lom3.10088
op_relation Limnology and Oceanography: Methods, 2016; 14(4):278-291
1541-5856
http://hdl.handle.net/2440/100486
doi:10.1002/lom3.10088
Russell, B. [0000-0003-1282-9978]
Connell, S. [0000-0002-5350-6852]
op_rights © 2016 Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography
op_doi https://doi.org/10.1002/lom3.10088
container_title Limnology and Oceanography: Methods
container_volume 14
container_issue 4
container_start_page 278
op_container_end_page 291
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