Abstract
Community metabolism is increasingly being used as a measure of functional activity in ecological research. In order to combine the advantages of measuring metabolism in open and closed aquatic ecosystems, a battery powered, portable, in-situ, continuous flow-through apparatus was designed. A gravity generated water flow through the enclosures ensures steady flow rates and allows continuous measurements of e.g. O2, temperature and nutrients over long time-periods. The setup is suitable for experimental purposes as it is possible to manipulate the incoming water (e.g. by increasing or decreasing temperature, food, oxygen and nutrient levels) and as several enclosures containing different ecosystem components can be serially coupled in order to evaluate aspects of their interdependence and functions in the total ecosystem. The device is also suitable in bio-assay studies for on-site effluent testing and dose-response testing of toxicants. By regulating the flow rate and size of the enclosure, the setup can be easily adapted to different sizes and activities of the components studied.
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