Delta Marsh is one of several coastal wetlands bordering large lakes in Manitoba in central Canada. The marsh is comprised of large, open bays that have become turbid over the past three decades due to invasion by carp and stabilized water levels.
Peripheral ponds lacking connection to the main marsh are comparatively clear.
The purpose of this study is to provide background characterization of clear and turbid sites in Delta Marsh as the prerequisite to experimental manipulation of water and carp access. Baseline water quality data were collected from over 50 sites throughout the marsh from 1998 to 2000. The dataset contains a rich physical, chemical and biological description of current conditions in the marsh. In 2000, peripheral ponds were selected from a group of 42 whose morphometric change over a 50-year period was quantified using air photos. Eight of the ponds lack connection to the surrounding marsh and were consistently clearer than nearby open sites throughout the field season.