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Description
The sample design in ECOPOND includes five geographic locations, spanning the south of Poland to the middle of Norway, where we will sample five replicates of urban and rural ponds in close geographic proximity, making it possible to test for the impact of urbanization on biodiversity and biotic homogenization across latitude. We will sample all ponds at three
different time periods (n=150), making it possible to assess seasonality in biodiversity. Traditional sampling
using morphological species identification will be close to impossible for a large set of sites and sampling
times, and repeated collections of individuals can potentially cause ecosystem damage. Therefore, ECOPOND
will utilize biodiversity screening methods that are not only manageable for a large number of sites within a
short time frame, but also gives more detailed results on all the sampled taxa at the same time.
All ponds will also be analyzed for over 20 water quality parameters and include data on a range of site characteristics that will be used as explanatory variables in all models.
ECOPOND will compare large datasets across large geographic regions and will provide detailed knowledge
of biodiversity patterns in vertebrates, invertebrates, fungal and microbial species, as well as genomic
composition and skin biodiversity for animals inhabiting the same ponds set in an urban context.