Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-7-2021

Publication Title

Transactions of the Illinois Academy of Science

Department

The Center for STEM Research, Education & Outreach

Abstract

A study of the Upper Pond at the Edwardsville Watershed Nature Center (WNC) was conducted to discover the potential cause of fish kills in the small stormwater retention pond and to determine how the current populations of bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), redear sunfish (Lepomis microlophus), common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) can survive in the pond based on prevailing environmental conditions. Dissolved oxygen (DO) was measured from June 19 to December 5, 2019 at a site in the center of the open lake (4 m deep) and from a dock near the shore (1.1 m deep). Water temperature was measured intermittently at both sites from June 19 to November 4. In the open lake, oxygen levels reached a peak of 11.6 mg/L at the surface on July 2. Below 2.5 m DO remained less than 1.5 mg/L until Oct. 8 when it slowly began to rise reaching a high of 10.8 on Nov. 20. The dock station had similar oxygen levels. Temperature varied from a high of 31.2 °C on July 21 to a low of 6.5° C on November 3. The low DO in the pond results from a nearly continuous cover of duckweed (Lemna sps) which prevents interchange of oxygen with the atmosphere. It is likely that the low oxygen levels select for fish species that are physiologically and behaviorally capable of surviving hypoxia.

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