Touristic Gölcük Lake (İzmir/Ödemiş) Current Fish Fauna Assessment and the Impact of Regional Tourism on the Lake Ecosystem
Project no. 32435 · Status: Kapanmış · 2024
Summary
<p>Lake Gölcük (İzmir/Ödemiş) is one of the significant freshwater resources of the Aegean Region and is located within the Gediz River drainage basin. In addition to being a popular tourist destination, the lake's surroundings are used for residential purposes, placing it under intense anthropogenic pressure. The status of the fish fauna in Lake Gölcük has not been studied for many years, and no comprehensive research has been conducted to determine how the lake's ecosystem health is impacted by ongoing activities in its vicinity. This planned research aims to identify both the current state of the lake’s fish fauna, which has not been studied for a long time, and for the first time, the level of microplastic pollution in one of İzmir's significant tourist lakes. The primary hypotheses of our study are that the fish fauna in Lake Gölcük has changed significantly over the years and that the lake has a high level of microplastic pollution. If our rapid support project is approved, testing these hypotheses will help us understand the health of the lake’s ecosystem and the potential impacts of touristic activities around the lake. We believe that the information gathered through our project will serve as a pioneering database for the conservation and management of the lake’s ecosystem. Furthermore, we hope that the project outcomes will raise awareness about microplastic pollution, particularly in Turkey’s tourist lakes.</p>