A stream mesocosm experiment to investigate biological community recovery following restoration

This experiment aimed to identify the impacts of a degraded community on colonist community establishment.

12 mesocosms were established, simulating physically healthy streams. Degraded invertebrate communities were established in half, mimicking the post-restoration scenario of physical recovery without biological recovery. A healthy colonist community was then introduced to all mesocosms, to test if degraded community presence influenced healthy community establishment.

Data set includes invertebrate community abundances, Deleatidium mayfly growth, development and emergence data, algal biomass, and physico-chemical data.