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Biodiversity in urban ponds and lakes: Human effects on plankton populations

PI: Robert Sterner, Professor and Head, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Minnesota

Funding Source: USGS-WRRI 104B/ CAIWQ Competitive Grants Program

Project Duration: 3/1/02- 2/28/04

This project will address two sorely neglected aspects of water resources 1) urban habitats and 2) biodiversity of small inconspicuous species. In this project, we will survey the zooplankton and phytoplankton communities of 100 ponds and lakes within the seven-county metropolitan area of the Twin Cities, Minnesota. Sites will be categorized as urban based on land use information. Traditional water quality data will be gathered at the same time. We will determine if planktonic biodiversity correlates with the degree of urbanization using statistical approaches, such as testing for differences in the species area curves as a function of land use. There has been little attention paid to 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. This research is supported by a grant from the WRC.