2009
In June 2009 a fire on the bird island Mellum about destroyed 1,000 nests with eggs and young birds.
The fire destroyed a ten-acre area, including the main breeding grounds of the Meadow Pipit, the herring gulls and oystercatchers. Sampling of herring gull eggs for the Environmental Specimen Bank was completed by that date.
- Due to poor weather conditions the eelpout sampling could not carried out.at the North Sea sampling site (Darßer Ort).
- After successful preliminary studies suspended particulate matter is now sampled routinely at the three sampling areas of the Danube.
Sampling area
| Saarländischer Verdichtungsraum | Important, old-industrialised conurbation in Germany. |
|---|---|
| Bornhöveder Seengebiet | Main water divide between the North- and Baltic Sea |
| Rhein | Longest river in Germany |
| NP Bayerischer Wald | Germany's first national park |
| NP Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft | National Park in the largest brackish water (Bodden) habitat of the world. |
| BR/NP Wattenmeere | National park in the world largest connected sand and mud flats. |
| Elbe | Fourth largest river area in Central Europe. |
| Dübener Heide | Region in the chemical triangle of Central Germany. |
| NP Harz | The Harz National Park is Germany's largest forest national park. |
| Solling | Second highest and largest low mountain range in Northern Germany. |
| BR Pfälzerwald | Germany's largest connected forest area in a range of low mountains. |
| Donau | Second largest river in Europe. |
| Sampling sites (humans) | 4 university cities as sampling areas. |
Specimen
| Common spruce | A major primary producer in semi-natural and anthropogenic affected ecosystems. |
|---|---|
| Pine | A major primary producer in semi-natural and anthropogenic affected ecosystems. |
| Lombardy poplar | A deciduous tree typical of ecosystems close to dense conurbations and an indicator for the characterisation of the immission situation during the vegetation period. |
| Beech | As the most dominant deciduous tree species in Central Europe, it plays a significant role in most nearly natural and also anthropogenically influenced forest ecosystems up to an altitude of 1100 m. |
| Roe deer, one-year-old | The roe deer is the most common of the larger herbivores (first order-consumer) to be found in the wild in Europe. |
| Feral pigeon | A pigeon species home in nearly every city. |
| Earthworm (Aporrectodea longa) | As an organism living at ground level, it is a major driver of the decomposition of organic material (e.g. plant litter). |
| Earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) | As an organism living at ground level, it is a major driver of the decomposition of organic material (e.g. plant litter). |
| Zebra mussel | Common mussel species as invasive animal in rivers and lakes with high information level for water pollution |
| Bream | Bioindicator in rivers and lakes |
| Common bladder wrack | Common brown alga of the coastal areas of the North and Baltic Sea |
| Blue mussel | One of the most important edible mussel species common in the North and Baltic Sea |
| Eelpout | As the only viviparous fish in German nearshore waters, it is a bioindicator in nearshore coastal marine ecosystems. |
| Herring gull | Inshore, the herring gull mainly feeds from the sea: upon fish, mussels, and crabs. |
| Suspended particulate matter | Fine insoluble mineral or organic particles in the water phase |
| Students | Student groups with an even number of female and male students at the age of 20 to 29. |
Analytes
| Metals | Eighty percent of all elements on earth are metals |
|---|---|
| Nonmetals | Only eighteen elements in the periodic table |
| Organometallic compounds | Organic substances with at least one metall atom |
| Chlorohydrocarbons | Group of organic compounds with at least one covalently bonded chlorine atom |
| Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons | Group of organic compounds with at least three condensed six-membered rings |
| Supplementary parameters | Additional information for the interpretation of contamination data |