water centre
Is it a bee? Is it a fly? Actually it's a bee fly
I visited Chapman's Pond, Dringhouses (York) this morning, as the OPAL Water Centre guys were up doing some more water sampling. They visit the site every three months and do chemical, biological and physical analyses (See their pages on Aquatic Biomonitoring for more info).
Whilst they were out on the pond, I spent a happy half hour walking in the scrubby area of the site, which is great for wildlife. There were masses of birds singing in the trees, and I spotted a couple of bumblebees and a speckled wood butterfly.
I also saw this on some brambles - this amazing looking creature is a bee-fly
The thing sticking out of the front of the bee is called a proboscis, and it uses it to suck nectar out of flowers. The bee-fly has a dark side though, it comes out at this time of year to lay it's eggs in the burrows of solitary bees. The eggs hatch into larvae and eat the food meant for the solitary bee larvae. The bee fly larva then undergoes metamorphosis into a grub-like creature and then eats the bee larvae!!
Isn't nature amazing? Bee-flies tend to be out and about March-June, so why not have a look in your local greenspace and see if you can spot some?
Water Centre
How do pollutants affect freshwater life?
The main focus of the OPAL Water Centre project is to learn more about pollution in our lakes and ponds.
The dangers of pollution
Water pollution can seriously damage the health of aquatic plants and animals. In fact, these pollutants can pass right through the food chain, from the smallest creatures up to the large fish.
There is increasing evidence that fish and sediments in UK lakes contain high levels of persistent organic pollutants - known as POPs - potentially toxic trace metals. Freshwater species are being affected even in remote locations. The situation may be even worse in urban areas because of pollutants running off from paved areas and roads.
Assessing the problem
Our research aims to identify the scale of contamination from trace metals (mercury, lead, cadmium, copper, nickel and zinc) and certain POPs in the water, wildlife and sediment of 9 ponds and lakes around England. We will then assess the impact of these pollutants on the freshwater ecosystem.
See the results so far
All data and observations so far can be seen on our research results page
Get involved
Interested in our work? We work closely with many local and national societies who are always keen to attract new members.
Out on the lakes with the OPAL Water team
What's it like being a water scientist? Follow Dr Simon Turner as he samples nine lakes across the country.
Policy and regulation
If you are interested in learning more about government policy on substances such as trace metals and persistent organic pollutants in waters then please visit:
For Scotland please visit:
For Wales please visit:
For Northern Ireland please visit:
Contact us
opalwatercentre@geog.ucl.ac.uk
The OPAL Water Centre is led by University College London
OPAL Water
Help monitor and protect our lakes and ponds
We want everyone to become interested in the aquatic world, and have the skills to observe changes in water quality through the identification of key plants and animals.
Protecting a nature oasis
Ponds and pools are often the focus of a local community as they are frequently located in shared spaces such as parks and recreation areas. They can be oases of biodiversity in otherwise ecologically poor locations and are important for both human and environmental wellbeing.
However, these freshwater environments are often struggling with problems such as water pollution and nutrient enrichment, and may also be poorly managed.
We are leading two OPAL Water projects to learn more about the lakes and ponds in England and to help in their conservation.
OPAL Water projects
OPAL Water research news and Simon's fieldwork diary
The lakes and ponds we are monitoring
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East of England: East Midlands: London: North East: North West: South East: South West: West Midlands: Yorkshire and Humber: |
Holt Hall Lake, Holt Thoresby Lake, near Mansfield Wake Valley Pond, Epping Forest Crag Lough, near Haltwhistle Marton Mere, Blackpool Fleet Pond, Fleet Slapton Ley, Slapton Edgbaston Pool, Birmingham Chapman's Pond, York |
Water survey - join in now!
How healthy is your local pond? The animals living in the water will help you find out.
Join in the OPAL water survey and help scientists learn more about the health of our ponds and lakes.
Take part in the OPAL metals survey
Help OPAL Water scientists research metal contamination in lakes and ponds.
Research results
See all the results so far from our lake monitoring research.
Partner organisations
We work with a number of organisations across the country to help with our research. You can also get involved with their work. They are always keen to welcome new members.
Policy and regulation
If you are interested in learning more about government policy on water quality then please visit:
For Scotland please visit:
For Wales please visit:
For Northern Ireland please visit:
Contact us
opalwatercentre@geog.ucl.ac.uk
OPAL Water is led by University College London