Chironomidae fatty acid proportions

To test the predation effects of crucian carp (Carassius carassius), nutrient concentrations, and Chironomidae community composition on the fatty acid export from aquatic ecosystems, we conducted a 25-day experiment across 20 1,500-L mesocosms covering a total phosphorus (TP) gradient of 20–1,000 µg/L. Our mesocosm facility was set-up in Lake Erken (59°51′N, 18°36′E) in Central Sweden, which is a mesoeutrophic lake with ambient concentrations of TP at 31 µg/L and total nitrogen (TN) at 0.7 mg/L (unpublished average of 25 years of monitoring).

The mesocosms consisted of 20 white opaque, open-top cylinders with a flat bottom, made of high-density polyethylene that were 2 m deep and had a diameter between 92 and 101 cm. The floating mesocosms were attached to a dock close to the lakeshore. Please see the manuscript "The emergence of fatty acids—Aquatic insects as vectors along a productivity gradient" by Scharnweber et al (2019) for further information about the study behind this dataset.