An official website of the United States government
Phytoplankton samples for the 4 southern Wisconsin LTER lakes (Mendota, Monona, Wingra, Fish) have been collected for analysis by LTER since 1995 (1996 Wingra, Fish) when the southern Wisconsin lakes were added to the North Temperate Lakes LTER project. Samples are collected as a composite whole-water sample and are preserved in gluteraldehyde. Composite sample depths are 0-8 meters for Lake Mendota (to conform to samples collected and analyzed since 1990 for a UW/DNR food web research study), and 0-2 meters for the other three lakes. A tube sampler is used for the 0-8 m Lake Mendota samples; samples for the other lakes are obtained by collecting water at 1-meter intervals using a Kemmerer water sampler and compositing the samples in a bucket. Samples are taken in the deep hole region of each lake at the same time and location as other limnological sampling. Phytoplankton samples are analyzed by PhycoTech, Inc., a private lab specializing in phytoplankton analyses (see data protocol for procedures). Samples for Wingra and Fish lakes are archived but not routinely counted. Permanent slide mounts (3 per sample) are prepared for all analyzed Mendota and Monona samples as well as 6 samples per year for Wingra and Fish; the slide mounts are archived at the University of Wisconsin - Madison Zoology Museum. Phytoplankton are identified to species using an inverted microscope (Utermohl technique) and are reported as natural unit (i.e., colonies, filaments, or single cells) densities per mL, cell densities per mL, and algal biovolume densities per mL. Multiple entries for the same species on the same date may be due to different variants or vegetative states - (e.g., colonial or attached vs. free cell.) Biovolumes for individual cells of each species are determined during the counting procedure by obtaining cell measurements needed to calculate volumes for geometric solids (e.g., cylinders, spheres, truncated cones) corresponding to actual cell shapes. Biovolume concentrations are then computed by mulitplying the average cell biovolume by the cell densities in the water sample. Note that one million cubicMicrometers of biovolume PerMilliliter of water are equal to a biovolume concentration of one cubicMillimeterPerMilliliter. Assuming a cell density equal to water, a cubicMillimeterPerMilliliter of biovolume converts to a biomass concentration of one milligramPerLiter. Sampling Frequency: bi-weekly during ice-free season from late March or early April through early September, then every 4 weeks through late November; sampling is conducted usually once during the winter (depending on ice conditions). Number of sites: 4 Several taxonomic updates have been made to this dataset February 2013, see methods for details.
more »
« less
North Temperate Lakes LTER: Phytoplankton - Trout Lake Area 1984 - 2006
Phytoplankton samples from the seven northern Wisconsin LTER lakes in the Trout Lake area (Allequash, Big Muskellunge, Crystal, Sparkling, and Trout lakes and bog lakes 27-02 [Crystal Bog], and 12-15 [Trout Bog]) are collected six times per year at the deep hole sampling station at the same time as our other limnological sampling is conducted. We use a peristaltic pump and tubing, collecting a separate sample from the epilimnion, metalimnion and hypolimnion for most of the lakes. For 27-2 Bog Lake, which is only 2m deep, we collect one 0-2m composite sample. The samples are preserved with Lugols iodine solution. We create a single hypsometrically pooled composite sample per lake from subsamples of the strata samples. The pooled samples are sent to PhycoTech, Inc., a private lab specializing in phytoplankton analysis, to be made into permanent slide mounts. The slide mounts, 3 slides per sample, are archived at the University of Wisconsin - Madison Zoology Museum Phytoplankton are identified to species using an inverted microscope (Utermohl technique) and are reported as natural unit (i.e., colonies, filaments, or single cells) densities per mL, cell densities per mL, and algal biovolume densities per mL. Multiple entries for the same species on the same date may be due to different variants or vegetative states - (e.g., colonial or attached vs. free cell.) Biovolumes for individual cells of each species are determined during the counting procedure by obtaining cell measurements needed to calculate volumes for geometric solids (e.g., cylinders, spheres, truncated cones) corresponding to actual cell shapes. Biovolume concentrations are then computed by mulitplying the average cell biovolume by the cell densities in the water sample. Note that one million cubicMicrometers of biovolume PerMilliliter of water are equal to a biovolume concentration of one cubicMillimeterPerMilliliter. Assuming a cell density equal to water, a cubicMillimeterPerMilliliter of biovolume converts to a biomass concentration of one milligramPerLiter. Sampling Frequency: 6 samples per year Number of sites: 7
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2025982
- PAR ID:
- 10493158
- Publisher / Repository:
- Environmental Data Initiative
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Zooplankton samples are collected from the seven primary northern lakes (Allequash, Big Muskellunge, Crystal, Sparkling, and Trout lakes and bog lakes 27-02 [Crystal Bog], and 12-15 [Trout Bog]) at two to nine depths using a 2m long Schindler Patalas trap (53um mesh) and with vertical tows using a Wisconsin net (20cm diameter, 80um mesh). Zooplankton samples are preserved in buffered formalin (until 2001) or 95% ethanol (2001 onwards). Subsamples of the individual Schindler trap samples are combined to create a hypsometrically pooled sample which is counted for copepods, cladocerans, and rotifers. Data are summed over sex and stage to provide a lake-wide estimate of organisms per liter for each species. A minimum of 5 samples per lake-year are counted. The data set also contains length measurements for copepods and cladocerans. The Wisconsin net sample and the pooled sample are archived in the UW Zoology museum. Each year one complete set of Schindler Patalas depth samples collected in August is also archived. From 1981 to August 1986 - used a 0.5m high Schindler Patalas trap. Sampling Frequency: every two weeks during ice-free season, every 5 weeks during ice-cover. Number of sites: 7more » « less
-
This data set is a derived data set based on fish catch data. Data are collected annually to enable us to track the fish assemblages of eleven primary lakes (Allequash, Big Muskellunge, Crystal, Sparkling, Trout, bog lakes 27-02 [Crystal Bog] and 12-15 [Trout Bog], Mendota, Monona, Wingra and Fish). Sampling on Lakes Monona, Wingra, and Fish started in 1995; sampling on other lakes started in 1981. Sampling is done at six littoral zone sites per lake with seine, minnow or crayfish traps, and fyke nets; a boat-mounted electrofishing system samples three littoral transects. Vertically hung gill nets are used to obtain two pelagic samples per lake from the deepest point. A trammel net samples across the thermocline at two sites per lake. In the bog lakes only fyke nets and minnow traps are deployed. Parameters measured include species-level identification and lengths for all fish caught, and weight and scale samples from a subset. Derived data sets include species richness, catch per unit effort, and size distribution by species, lake, and year. Protocol used to generate data: Day seines were only used in 1981 and have been eliminated from this data set to make sampling effort across years comparable. Number caught for each species is summed over repetitions of a gear within a lake and over depth. For information on fish stocking by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in LTER lakes in Dane and Vilas counties, see https://dnr.wi.gov/fisheriesmanagement/Public/Summary/Index. Beach seining was discontinued after 2019. The only sampling done in 2020 were a single gill-netting sample in Sparkling, Crystal, and Trout lakes. Sampling in Fish Lake was missed in 2021 due to significant lake level changes. Data from the two bogs is missing in 2022. Sampling Frequency: annually. Number of sites: 11more » « less
-
Parameters characterizing the major ions of the eleven primary lakes (Allequash, Big Muskellunge, Crystal, Sparkling, Trout, bog lakes 27-02 [Crystal Bog], and 12-15 [Trout Bog], Mendota, Monona, Wingra and Fish) are measured at one station in the deepest part of each lake at the top and bottom of the epilimnion, mid-thermocline, and top, middle, and bottom of the hypolimnion. These parameters include chloride, sulfate, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, iron, manganese, and specific conductance (northern lakes only). Lake Wingra has always been just a surface sample, but in the winter we have, at times, taken chloride samples from top to bottom to have a better understanding of road salt effects. Samples for conductivity are collected four times per year in the seven primary lakes (Allequash, Big Muskellunge, Crystal, Sparkling, and Trout lakes, and unnamed lakes 27-02 [Crystal Bog], and 12-15 [Trout Bog] in the Trout Lake area at the deepest part of the lake, sampling at the surface, mid water column, and the bottom. The sampling dates include February under ice, spring mixis, August stratified, and fall mixis. Conductivity is measured using a YSI Model 32 conductivity meter with YSI 3403 conductivity cell, reported as uS/cm at 25°C. 1981-1988: a Sybron Barnstead conductivity bridge was used. 1981-1986: conductivity was measured monthly. Sampling Frequency: quarterly (winter, spring and fall mixes, and summer stratified periods) Number of sites: 11more » « less
-
Data are collected annually to enable us to track the fish assemblages of eleven primary lakes (Allequash, Big Muskellunge, Crystal, Sparkling, Trout, bog lakes 27-02 [Crystal Bog] and 12-15 [Trout Bog], Mendota, Monona, Wingra and Fish). Sampling on Lakes Monona, Wingra, and Fish started in 1995; sampling on other lakes started in 1981. Sampling is done at six littoral zone sites per lake with seine, minnow or crayfish traps, and fyke nets; a boat-mounted electrofishing system samples four littoral transects. Vertically hung gill nets are used to obtain two pelagic samples per lake from the deepest point. A trammel net samples across the thermocline at two sites per lake. In the bog lakes only fyke nets and minnow traps are deployed. Parameters measured include species-level identification and lengths for all fish caught, and weight and scale samples from a subset. Dominant species vary from lake to lake. Perch, rockbass, and bluegill are common, with walleye, large and smallmouth bass, northern pike and muskellunge as major piscivores. Cisco have been present in the pelagic waters of four lakes, and an exotic species, rainbow smelt, is present in two. The bog lakes contain mudminnows. Beach seining was discontinued after the 2019 season. The only sampling done in 2020 were a single gill-netting replicate in Sparkling, Crystal, and Trout lakes. Sampling in Fish Lake was missed in 2021 due to significant lake level changes. Data from the two bogs is missing in 2022. Sampling Frequency: annually Number of sites: 11.more » « less
