FSML: Enhancement of Research With Experimental Aquatic Ecosystemics at the Kansas Ecological Reserves

随着环境干扰、碎片化和污染变得更加普遍，新的多学科合作研究必须在比过去更大的范围内提供对复杂生态现象的洞察。作为该项目主题的设施是一个区域中心，用于研究湖泊系统对不同尺度的干扰的反应。与该设施相关的研究人员拥有多年使用小型实验性代理生态系统的经验(例如。实验池塘)，以确定更大的“真实世界”系统对干扰的反应。该项目的目标是加强堪萨斯大学野外站--堪萨斯生态保护区(KER)的水生研究设施，以便继续将这项工作扩大到更大的范围。KER的水上设施很广泛，有近200个实验池塘，超过55个室外玻璃纤维水箱和不同类型的围栏，用于在这些系统内进行较小规模的实验。近100种出版物报道了这个水生计划20年的历史，研究往往集中在利用这些相对较小的替代生态系统进行水生研究。这项工作已经确定，应用于这些替代物的实验扰动充分地模拟了各种环境变化。正在开发新的建模技术，以将这些结果外推到“更大空间和时间尺度的真实世界”。为了将这项经验研究扩展到更大的Lentium生态系统(湖泊和水库)。1991年在受保护的50公顷流域内修建了一座4.5hm2、13m深的水库。这个水库是作为一个模型生态系统建造的，具有更大的Lentic系统的许多重要特征。现在，在科尔工作的调查人员可以在一个大型、安全和精心管理的湖泊/水库替代品中进行实证调查。这个规模更大的代理生态系统靠近全国最大的实验池塘设施之一，这使得该设施对该地区各机构的研究人员具有吸引力。水库在全湖尺度上不进行湖相人工输导，为水库持续提供自然参考条件。然而，模拟这种水库规模的环境变化的实验扰动可以在原地封闭环境中以及相邻的较小的实验池塘和水箱中进行研究。

As environmental disturbance, fragmentation, and pollution become more widespread, it is imperative that new collaborative mutidisciplinary research provide insights into complex ecological phenomena on a larger scale than has been possible in the past. The facility that is the subject of this project is a regional center for research on the responses of lake systems to disturbance at varying scales. The investigators associated with this facility have many years of experience using small experimental surrogate ecosystems(e.g.. experimental ponds) to identify the responses to disturbance of larger, "real world", systems. The objective of this project is to enhance the aquatic research facility at the University of Kansas field station, the Kansas Ecological Reserves (KER), in order to continue the extension of this work to larger scales. The aquatic facilities at the KER are extensive with nearly 200 experimental ponds over 55 outdoor fiberglass tanks and different types of enclosures for smaller scale experiments within these systems. Research over the 20 year history of this aquatic program, reported in nearly 100 publications, has often focused on the use of these relatively small surrogate ecosystems for aquatic research. This work has firmly established that experimental perturbations applied to these surrogate adequately simulate a variety of environmental changes. New modeling techniques are being developed to extrapolate these results to the "real world at larger spatial and temporal scales. To extend this empirical research to larger lentic ecosystems )lakes and reservoirs). 1991 a 4.5 ha, 13 m deep reservoir was constructed in a protected 50 ha watershed. This reservoir was constructed as a model ecosystem with many of the important characteristics of larger lentic systems. Now investigators working at KER can conduct empirical investigations in a large, secure and carefully managed lake/ reservoir surrogate. The proximity of this lar ger scale surrogate ecosystem to one of the largest experimental pond facilities in the nation makes the facility attractive to researchers from institutions throughout the region. No limnological manpipulations are conducted in the reservoir at the whole-lake scale so that natural reference conditions can be continually provided. However, experimental perturbations simulating environmental change at this reservoir scale can be studied in situ enclosures and in adjacent smaller experimental ponds and tanks.