Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID ND_2023_Otte_1

Aquatic macroinvertebrates as indicators of restoration success in Prairie Pothole Region wetlands

Institute: North Dakota
Year Established: 2023 Start Date: 2023-09-01 End Date: 2024-05-15
Total Federal Funds: $4,100 Total Non-Federal Funds: $6,881

Principal Investigators: Marinus Otte

Project Summary: The Prairie Pothole Region is a landscape scattered with thousands of depressional wetlands called “potholes”. These wetlands are home to a variety of wildlife including waterfowl, other birds, and amphibians, and also provide various ecosystem services such as flood protection and the improvement of water quality. Due to the public’s knowledge of their importance growing over recent decades, there has been an increase in wetland restoration. With this increase, we require a tool to make sure we’re restoring the wetlands correctly and efficiently, with the end goal to restore them to their previous state, as if they were never destroyed in the first place. Plants are the #1 used indicator of restoration success. With this research, we are investigating if aquatic macroinvertebrate communities can be utilized as an indicator of restoration success as well.