We were at Shallow Lakes 2021!

12. March 2021 · Write a comment · Categories: Outreach, Saline Lakes

Tekin presented our recent work on Konya Closed Basin, which has been facing dramatic water loss, in the Shallow Lakes Conference, 2021. Our study describes the decadal changes in size and salinity of lakes, and also dramatic decline of waterbirds and fish abundance and species richnes in lakes in the Konya Closed Basin, Turkey, which are mainly associated with climate change and increasing water abstraction for agriculture. The study is a joint effort of our Saline Lakes project team along with many other contributors and describes the critical changes the basin has undergone on the recent years.

Fou our presentation:

Construction of the Mesocosm Experimental Ecology Facility has started!

15. February 2021 · Write a comment · Categories: Experimental ecology, Saline Lakes · Tags: ,

We undertook a substantial effort to establish the first advanced mesocosm facility of Turkey to conduct experimental ecology research on aquatic ecosystems. We will be conducting experiments on the effect of salinisation and eutrophication in face of climate change on the lake and wetlands of Anatolia in 2021 and 2021. These facilities are being constructed as a part of the Saline Lakes Project and will be functioning at both METU Ankara and Erdemli Campuses in collaboration with Erik Jeppesen, Meryem Beklioğlu and Zuhal Akyürek. We are looking forward to conducting state of the art experiments where we will be elucidating ecological dynamics many years to come.

The tanks to be used in the system have reached the mesocosm areas. In addition, the construction works of the Mesocosm experiment area in Erdemli campus started.

Field Study in Konya Closed Basin

30. June 2020 · Write a comment · Categories: Saline Lakes · Tags: ,

Mustafa and Serhat conducted a field study in Konya Closed Basin to better understand the effect of water scarcicity on the ecology of lakes in arid landscapes. The fieldwork was held on Konya Closed Basin was completed between 21 and 27 June 2020, within the scope of the Saline Lakes Project. We sampled a total of 43 water bodies (22 were dams, and 21 were natural lakes) to understand their physico-chemical composition during the expedition.