Description of the RI

CER mesocosms are situated on the premises of CER Institute of Ecology and Botany, operated by CER Institute of Aquatic Ecology. The facility consists of two sets of mobile mesocosms, consisting of 96 (220-litre each) and 40 (300-litre each) tanks. Both types of mesocosms can be equipped with mixing and computer-controlled heating systems. The tanks can be filled either with tap water or with water from natural ponds and shallow lakes. Mesocosms are mobile and can also be transported to the field to carry out in situ experiments in natural ponds or lakes.

The Hungarian Pond Network (HPN) is being built as the extension of the existing Iberian Pond Network (IPN) as part of the H2020 project AQUACOSM-plus. Twenty-four tanks with a volume of 1000-litre each are being installed at four sites across Hungary (Vácrátót, Fülöpháza, Zánka, Balmazújváros). They will be equipped with temperature loggers and a remote-controlled heating system, enabling long-term experiments targeting the effects of climate change.

Activities and Services

Laboratories (incl. water analytical labs, molecular ecology lab, and microscopy labs) and sampling equipment are available at the CER Institute of Aquatic Ecology, Budapest. Key topics studied at the facilities are related to aquatic biodiversity, trophic relationships, metacommunity ecology, and to the role of anthropogenic stressors (e.g., climate change, invasive species, habitat fragmentation). Researchers at CER Institute of Aquatic Ecology are experts in water chemistry, aquatic biodiversity, invasion ecology, spatial ecology, and the ecology of multiple aquatic organisms (bacterio-, phyto-, and zooplankton, benthic diatoms, macrophytes, macroinvertebrates, fish etc.). International access to the infrastructure is provided via the transnational access program of the H2020 AQUACOSM-plus project for training and research. CER offers the use of guesthouses, lecture halls and libraries in Budapest, Vácrátót, and Fülöpháza.