New Possibilities of the Classical Method: Automated Determination of Primary Production and Destruction of Organic Substance in a Reservoir by the Oxygen Method

Abstract

A device for the automated determination of the primary production (PP) and destruction (D) of organic matter in a water body by the oxygen method is presented. It consists of light and dark bottles with optical dissolved oxygen sensors (Onset, YSI) and the pump changing water in bottles through a predetermined period (3 h). Results of 3-day measurements performed in the Mozhaisk Reservoir have shown that the device describes the studied processes fairly well, significantly facilitating field research. The gross PP obtained during the experiment constituted about 4 mg O₂/(L day), which corresponds to the eutrophic status of the reservoir. The device can be used for studying the functional characteristics of aquatic ecosystems under changing environmental factors such as temperature, illumination, and content of biogenic elements.