Kiel Indoor Benthocosms (KIBs)
GEOMAR seagrass restoration fascilities
Kiel Indoor Benthocosms
The Kiel Indoor Benthocosms (KIBs; Pansch and Hiebenthal 2019) are a highly sophisticated mesocosm system that is comprised out of twelve 600 L tanks (Fig. 1a and b), which can either serve as experimental units for large communities or as water bath for several smaller experimental units (Figs. 1c-f). A temperature sensor is connected to a GHL Profilux computer and thus, checks the desired temperature against the current temperature. The temperature inside the tanks is then automatically controlled via heaters and chillers. Therefore, any kind of temperature profile can be used as treatment regime. Furthermore, two light sources (one with blue and one with yellow light) can be dimmed separately, so that day and night cycles with sunset and rise can be simulated. Additionally, manipulations pH, salinity and oxygen are possible as well, which makes the KIBs to an excellent facility in experimental stress ecology. For more detailed information, please see Pansch and Hiebentahl (2019).
[Schematic Overview of the Kiel Indoor Benthocosms (KIBs; a), overview of the climate room with the KIBs (b), Fabian Wolf working at one of the tanks (c), Kautex bottle as experimental unit with Asterias rubens (d) and, Plexiglass cylinders with Fucus vesiculosus (e and f). © Dar Golomb (a), Sarah Rühmkorff (c) and Fabian Wolf (b, d-f).]
References:
Pansch, Christian, and Claas Hiebenthal. ‘A New Mesocosm System to Study the Effects of Environmental Variability on Marine Species and Communities’. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods 17, no. 2 (February 2019): 145–62. https://doi.org/10.1002/lom3.10306.
Contact:
