US Long-Term Ecological Research Network
Lake Wingra Exclosure Experiment at North Temperate Lakes LTER: Nutrients 2005 - 2008

Abstract

Starting in late summer 2005, Wisconsin Dept of Natural Resources (WDNR), Dane County, Friends of Lake Wingra (FOLW), and NTL-LTER initiated a 3-year experiment in Lake Wingra to test the response of the native macrophyte community to clearer water produced from a major carp reduction program. This demonstration-scale experiment includes the construction of a 1.0-hectare rectangular carp exclosure with its solid vinyl walls extending from the lake shoreline to a water depth of 2.9 meters. NTL-LTER conducts the routine limnological monitoring of the lake and exclosure and is leading the science evaluation of potential lake restoration activities. The exclosure experiment was terminated in the fall of 2008. The exclosure was removed from Lake Wingra at that time. Sampling is done both within the exclosure and at a control site located nearby in the littoral zone. The sample location within the exclosure is equidistant from the side walls and approximately 75 meters from the shore in a water depth of approximately 2.5 meters. The control site sample location is approximately 75 meters west of the exclosure sample site at the same approximate distance from shore and water depth. Samples are taken at the same time and on the same schedule as the NTL-LTER limnological sampling on Lake Wingra, e.g., biweekly spring through summer, every 4 weeks in the fall, and once during the winter depending on ice conditions. Parameters measured within the exclosure and at the control site include water temperature, dissolved oxygen, secchi depth and chlorophyll-a. Additional parameters measured only within the exclosure include total Kjeldahl nitrogen, nitrate + nitrite nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, total phosphorus, dissolved reactive phosphorus and dissolved reactive silica. Parameters characterizing the nutrient chemistry are measured at the surface within the exclosure in Lake Wingra. These parameters include total Kjeldahl nitrogen, nitrate + nitrite nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, total phosphorus, dissolved reactive phosphorus and dissolved reactive silica. Total nitrogen is calculated by adding Kjeldahl nitrogen and nitrate/nitrite. Ammonia nitrogen is already included in the Kjeldahl nitrogen value. Sampling Frequency: generally bi-weekly during ice-free season from late March or early April through early September, then every 4 weeks through late November. Number of sites: 1
Dataset ID
191

Data Citation Suggestion

Lathrop, R. 2022. Lake Wingra Exclosure Experiment at North Temperate Lakes LTER: Nutrients 2005 - 2008 ver 8. Environmental Data Initiative. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/347e691fbb2e44b57f21cccad342878d. Accessed 2023-03-26.

Date Range

-

Data Download

Lake Wingra Exclosure Experiment: Nutrients