Livebearer
Cyprinodontiformes in the garden
fish pond
Garden fish pond water temperature logging
2011 1st trimester
(
from January the 1st 2011 to March 31st 2011 )
Introduction
Temperature it is probably the most studied
environmental and ecological factor, as evidenced by the relevance of it
in the scientific literature, mainly due to the direct effects it has on
living organisms ( and in the physiology of cold-blooded animals in
particular, like fish, as it reveals an prevailing importance as
restrictive condition on life support and the chemical reactions related
to it ).
As original methodology all through the first stage ( from January 1985
to December 1996 ), temperature readings were made with mercury-in-glass
thermometer ( aquaria type ).
To standardize results as well as to correct any inaccuracy, (
particularly between 0ºC / 32ºF and 40ºC / 104ºF ), both thermometers
readings were compared with a digital electronic thermometer.
These tests were taken for certifying and calibrate the temperatures
measured as good as possible.
In both cases, the mercury-in-glass thermometers remain floating all the
time and removal from water meant for examination, took only a few
seconds, just the time required for data interpretation ( temperature
reading ).
Data collections happened usually between 8:00 and 9:00. On the odd
occasion, some readings have been done between 18:00 and 19:00,
depending on convenience or weather conditions. Nevertheless, an
overwhelming preponderance of the readings had taken place at morning
period. Only a few had taken place at the end of the day ( from 18:00 to
19:00 ).
From January 1999 to December 2006, the mercury-in-glass thermometer was
replaced by a digital electronic one - Hanna Instruments HI 8424 ( pH,
mV, ºC ).
Again the performance of this new equipment was compared with the same
standard digital equipment used for similar operation with the preceding
two mercury-in-glass thermometers on service before it.
At a later stage, from January 2011 until the present, now used
automatic recording data logger EL-USB-1 (
http://www.lascarelectronics.com/pdf-usb-datalogging/data-logger0656045001254903180.pdf
), which can acquire data ( temperature readings ) every 60 minutes.
Initially tests that were conducted in December 2010, the time span of
the readings was every 5 minutes or every 30 minutes, yet the evidence
showed no significant changes that could make such choices significant.
The recording surface data loggers are submerged at 15 cm depth in the
fish pond water. For the air temperature the data logger is located in
accordance with the parameters set by the World Meteorological
Organization ( WMO ). This new methodology has revealed interesting
conclusions and allows a more rigorous assessment and more factual
environmental conditions, as evidenced by the comparative graph in
figure 1 ( for ºC ) and figure 2 ( for ºF ).
Comparing the old system outcome ( in which temperatures were recorded
only once every 24 hours ) and the current system ( in which
temperatures are recorded every hour ), we can easily asseverate that
real daily variations and the effective temperature range, were in fact
unknown.
With the perception of the yellow areas signaled in the graphic, we can
become aware of the information that would have been lost between March
20th 2011 and March 31st, 2011 if using the old system.
According with the information collected through the same temperature
range, during these 11 days, the conclusions would have been only 2°C /
3,6ºF thermal amplitude ( between 15ºC / 59ºF and 17ºC / 62,6ºF ), when
in fact the amplitude recorded by the current system has allowed us to
realize that actually it was 8°C / 14,4ºF ( between 15ºC / 59ºF and 23ºC
/ 73,4ºF ).
The rigor in the information available often makes the difference
between the success and failure on the acclimatization of a non native
species. It also means that a reliable data can also help us to avoid
causing unnecessary suffering to living beings by subjecting them to
inappropriate temperatures.
The data now acquired will allow new and more accurate statistics as,
for instance, the number of hours that temperature recorded between
certain limits was dated.
Figure 1 -
Results contrast between the two systems ( red for the earliest or
traditional one and dark blue for the current one ). The area in yellow
represents the information gained from the implementation of the current
system.
Figure 2 - Results contrast between the two systems.
The area in yellow represents the information gained from the
implementation of the current system.
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