Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2020ND080B

Understanding intra-lake seasonal and spatial variability in shallow prairie lake diatom communities: implications for paleolimnological studies

Institute: North Dakota
Year Established: 2020 Start Date: 2020-02-27 End Date: 2021-02-25
Total Federal Funds: $6,816 Total Non-Federal Funds: $21,625

Principal Investigators: Jon Sweetman

Abstract: 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 both annually and seasonally, which has markedly influenced wetland ecosystems. The seasonality of physical, chemical, and biological water variables is a major characteristic of temperate polymictic lakes. Understanding intra-lake seasonal and spatial variability in shallow prairie lake diatom communities will be important for obtaining improved insight about long-term changes in wetlands ecosystems. In this project, we will use ice-free monthly survey data (water chemistry and diatom) from two adjacent lakes P1 and P8, located in the Cottonwood Lake Study Area, North Dakota. The aims of this research areto: (1) investigate the patterns of seasonal succession within both lakes, (2) evaluate the main environmental variables that affect diatom community seasonal and spatial changes, as well as (3) evaluate patterns of spatial variability of diatom communities within a lake.