A mesocosm (meso- or 'medium' and -cosm 'world') is any outdoor experimental system that examines the natural environment under controlled conditions. In this way mesocosm studies provide a link between field surveys and highly controlled laboratory experiments.[1]
Mesocosms tend to be medium-sized to large (e.g., aquatic mesocosm range: 1 litre (34 US fl oz) to 10,000 litres (2,600 US gal)+) and contain multiple trophic levels of interacting organisms.
In contrast to laboratory experiments, mesocosm studies are normally conducted outdoors in order to incorporate natural variation (e.g., diel cycles). Mesocosm studies may be conducted in either an enclosure that is small enough that key variables can be brought under control or by field-collecting key components of the natural environment for further experimentation.
Extensive mesocosm studies have been conducted to evaluate how organisms or communities might react to environmental change, through deliberate manipulation of environmental variables, such as increased temperature, carbon dioxide or pH levels.[2]
- ^ "What is a mesocosm?". Retrieved 18 July 2011.
- ^ Sala, Osvaldo E.; Jackson, Robert B.; Mooney, Harold A.; Howarth, Robert W., eds. (2000). Methods in Ecosystem Science. New York, NY: Springer. p. 353. doi:10.1007/978-1-4612-1224-9. ISBN 978-0-387-98743-9. S2CID 27788329.