Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2018ND345B

Evaluating the Response of Diatoms and Cladocerans Communities to Climate Change over the Last Century in Lake P1, North Dakota

Institute: North Dakota
Year Established: 2018 Start Date: 2018-03-01 End Date: 2019-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $3,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $6,000

Principal Investigators: Jon Sweetman

Abstract: The Prairie Pothole wetlands play a significant role in providing important freshwater resources and vital ecosystem services for socio-economic development in North Dakota. The climate in this area is highly variable, with multiyear periods of drought and periods of excess precipitation occurring over the past century, which have markedly influenced wetland ecosystems. Yet little is known of how the biotic communities in these wetlands have responsed to climate variability over this period. Understanding how climate change influences aquatic communities will be important for managing biodiversity and wetland health in these sensitive systems. In this project, we will combine long-term historical datasets (including meteorology, hydrology and water chemistry from USGS) with sediments records from Lake P1, with the aim to evaluate the climate change effects on biological assemblage (diatoms and cladocerans) in the Prairie Pothole wetlands ecosystem, as well as the potential differential effects on different trophic levels (diatoms and cladocerans) at Lake P1, Cottonwood Lake Study Area, North Dakota. In turn, this research can help us get a better understanding of the Prairie Pothole wetlands ecosystem and can be used by managers for conserving wetlands in the future.