DOI: 10.5063/aa/duc_merp.146.6
title: Marsh Ecology Research Program (MERP): Algal data transect sampling (1985-1989)

description: The Marsh Ecology Research Program (MERP) was a long-term interdisciplinary study on the ecology of prairie wetlands. A scientific team from a variety of disciplines (hydrology, plant ecology, invertebrate ecology, vertebrate ecology, nutrient dynamics, marsh management) was assembled to design and oversee a long-term experiment on the effects of water-level manipulation on northern prairie wetlands. Ten years of fieldwork (1980 -1989), combining a routine long-term monitoring program and a series of short-term studies, generated a wealth of new and diverse information on the ecology and function of prairie wetlands (Murkin, Batt, Caldwell, Kadlec and van der Valk, 2000). This data set includes transect data, collected as part of the algae section of MERP. The objectives of the Marsh Ecology Research Program algal study were to unveil a better understanding on how different algae assemblages contribute to primary production (measured as C-assimilation rates) and biomass (chlorophyll-a content) in a prairie marsh habitat. The undertaking of this study also aimed to show how algal biomass would change with varying water depth, macrophyte density, and light attenuation. This unique project allowed for the productivity of these algal communities to be compared with that of the macrophyte community in order to demonstrate their importance in sustaining prairie wetland food webs (Robinson et al., 1997a). During each sampling session water depth, water temperature, vegetation density, and metaphyton cover were measured at the sample sites. Apart from these site measurements, photosynthetically active radiation (P.A.R.), metaphyton cover, and mudflat area measurements were performed at regular temporal and spatial intervals throughout each cell during the sampling season in order to determine relationships used to extrapolate sample site data to an entire cell. For further information on the Marsh Ecology Research Program (MERP), please visit: http://www.ducks.ca/conserve/research/projects/merp/index.html References: Murkin, H.R., B.D.J. Batt, P.J. Caldwell, J.A. Kadlec and A.G. van der Valk. 2000a. Introduction to the Marsh Ecology Research Program. In Prairie Wetland Ecology: The Contribution of the Marsh Ecology Research Program. (Eds) H.R. Murkin, A.G. van der Valk and W.R. Clark. pp. 3-15. Ames: Iowa State University Press. Robinson, G.G.C., Gurney, S.E., and Goldsborough, L.G. 1997a. The primary productivity of benthic and planktonic algae in a prairie wetland under controlled water-level regimes. Wetlands 17 (2): 182-194.87. Resulting Publications on Algae Assemblages Gurney, S.E., and Robinson, G.G.C. 1988. The influence of water level manipulation on metaphyton production in a temperate freshwater marsh. Verh. Internat. Verein. Limnol. 23:1032-1040. Hosseini, S.M., and A.G. van der Valk. 1989a. The impact of prolonged above-normal flooding on metaphyton in a freshwater marsh. In Freshwater Wetlands and Wildlife. (Eds.) R.R. Sharitz and J.W. Gibbons. pp. 317-324, USDOE Symposium Series 61, Oak Ridge: USDOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information Hosseini, S.M., and A.G. van der Valk. 1989b. Primary productivity and biomass of periphyton and phytoplankton in flooded freshwater marshes. In Freshwater Wetlands and Wildlife. (Eds.) R.R. Sharitz and J.W. Gibbons. pp. 303-315. USDOE Symposium Series 61, Oak Ridge: USDOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information. Robinson, G.G.C., Gurney, S.E., and Goldsborough, L.G. 1997a. The primary productivity of benthic and planktonic algae in a prairie wetland under controlled water-level regimes. Wetlands 17 (2): 182-194.87. Robinson, G.G.C., Gurney, S.E., and Goldsborough, L.G. 1997b. Response of benthic and planktonic algal biomass to experimental water-level manipulation in a prairie lakeshore wetland. Wetlands 17 (2): 167-181.86 Robinson, G.G.C., Gurney, S.E., and L.G. Goldsborough,. 2000. Algae in Prairie Wetlands. In Prairie Wetland Ecology: The Contribution of the Marsh Ecology Research Program. (Eds.) H.R. Murkin, A.G. van der Valk, and W.R. Clark, pp. 3-15. Iowa: Iowa State University Press.