Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2002MN7B

BIODIVERSITY IN URBAN PONDS AND LAKES: HUMAN EFFECTS ON PLANKTON POPULATIONS

Institute: Minnesota
Year Established: 2002 Start Date: 2002-03-01 End Date: 2004-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $28,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $90,849

Principal Investigators: Robert Sterner

Project Summary: This project will address two sorely neglected aspects of water resources research: 1) urban habitats and 2) biodiversity of small inconspicuous species. There is wide recognition that biodiversity is an important aspect of water quality, yet on several critical fronts, we lack sufficient scientific underpinning to make this goal a reality. There is little scientific data on effects of different environmental factors on biodiversity of small aquatic organisms. There has been little attention paid to the water resources closest to the large proportion of today's society that lives in urban environments. By undertaking serious study of biodiversity in urban ponds and lakes, this project will establish whether the combined influences of urbanization are deleteriously affecting the majority of the biodiversity within those habitats