Pond monitoring

Limnological studies on Chicken Creek pond started in 2005/2006 by the Chair of Freshwater Conservation at the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg and have been intensified in 2008. Samples have been taken from a boat at the point of greatest depth of the pond and depth profiles of physical variables and fluorescence chlorophyll-a are available. From February until June 2008, sampling took place biweekly from the end of the pontoon bridge. From September 2008, it was continued as routine monthly measuring and sampling. Water samples were taken with a Limnos sampler. In total, the biological data comprise bacterial abundance, chlorophyll-a concentrations, phytoplankton and zooplankton taxa composition, abundance and biomass. Most biological data are available from February 2008.

Pond sediments are investigated by the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) Berlin in the framework of the Chicken Creek monitoring project. For the determination of the extent of accumulated sediment layer, sediment thickness transects were taken from inflow to the outflow (North-South transects) and crossways (West-East transects). Additionally, undisturbed sediment cores were taken down to the bottom clay layer by means of a sediment corer. Aliquots of sediment fresh weight were used for the determination of dry weight and for the determination of the mean grain size distribution. Further, organic matter (loss on ignition), and TFe and TP were determined. To follow the sediment accretion and changes in quality the campaign on August 14th, 2008 was repeated on August 10th, 2010. Settling particulate matter was trapped in two sedimentation traps, made of transparent PVC pipes. These pipes were mounted on a rectangular PVC base plate and positioned on the sediment surface in the inflow and outflow area at about 2 m water depth. After removing larger particles such as snail shells, the entrapped material was dried and analyzed.