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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Investigating The Role Of Plant Traits And Interactions In Emergent Wetland Nutrient Removal, Andrew Ryan Sample
Investigating The Role Of Plant Traits And Interactions In Emergent Wetland Nutrient Removal, Andrew Ryan Sample
Theses and Dissertations
Increasing wetland restoration in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley has been identified as a method to reduce nutrient loading in the Gulf of Mexico. Wetlands have historically been used to treat water through processes facilitated by wetland plants, and relatively few species and plant traits have been identified as important in carrying out these processes. This study focuses on some of those species and traits and aims to identify species differences and plant traits that may be important for wetland nutrient mitigation. Chapter I provides background information on nutrient pollution, wetland biogeochemical mechanisms for nutrient sequestration, and the focal species …
The Quantitative Assessment Of Pond Scum: An Examination Of The Biogeochemistry Of Phosphorus Cycling In The Belgrade Lakes, Abbey M. Sykes
The Quantitative Assessment Of Pond Scum: An Examination Of The Biogeochemistry Of Phosphorus Cycling In The Belgrade Lakes, Abbey M. Sykes
Honors Theses
The internal recycling phosphorus in freshwater lake bottom sediments represents a significant source of hypolimnetic phosphorus (P) release for many of Maine’s lakes. In summer months, Maine lakes often thermally stratify and the lake hypolimnion develops anoxia, leading to a reduction in redox potential at the sediment-water interface. These reducing conditions facilitate the reductive dissolution of ferric iron, and, since phosphorus is often present in freshwater lake sediments as solid FeOOH-PO4 complexes, results in release of soluble phosphorus into the water column. Our current study presents field and laboratory data from sediment fractionation extractions designed to quantify concentrations of …
Microbial Responses To Unconventional Oil And Gas Development May Alter Ecosystem Function In Headwater Streams, Rachel Michaels
Microbial Responses To Unconventional Oil And Gas Development May Alter Ecosystem Function In Headwater Streams, Rachel Michaels
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
The demand for natural gas, and the need for efficient extraction, has led to the development of unconventional oil and natural gas (UOG) techniques. Due to the novelty of UOG, the potential impacts to freshwater ecosystems are not fully understood. We used a dual pronged approach to study the effects of UOG development on microbial biodiversity and function via a laboratory microcosm experiment and a survey study of streams with and without UOG development within their watersheds. The laboratory microcosm study simulated stream contamination with produced water, a byproduct of UOG operation, using sediment collected from one high water-quality stream …
Spatiotemporal Dynamics Of Nitrogen And Carbon Biogeochemistry In A Wetland-Stream Sequence, Patrick E. Hurley
Spatiotemporal Dynamics Of Nitrogen And Carbon Biogeochemistry In A Wetland-Stream Sequence, Patrick E. Hurley
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Studies of aquatic ecosystems often segregate streams from the influential ponds, lakes, and wetland zones that act as important transitions between terrestrial and fluvial systems. Across the aquatic landscape, these zones interact to form linked ecosystems that function as discrete nutrient processing domains, shifting biogeochemical signals due to spatial and temporal variability in hydrologic and biologic controls. Using a mass-balance approach, we profiled nutrient dynamics along a 23-km wetland-stream sequence over three seasons. Hydrologic, morphologic, and biologic conditions, as well as landscape attributes, were quantified to determine potential controls on biogeochemical cycling in a tributary of the Upper Clark Fork …
Colloidal And Truly Dissolved Metal(Loid)S In Wastewater Lagoons And Their Removal With Floating Treatment Wetlands, Lauren Sullivan
Colloidal And Truly Dissolved Metal(Loid)S In Wastewater Lagoons And Their Removal With Floating Treatment Wetlands, Lauren Sullivan
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Climate change is predicted to cause continuing declines in late-season streamflow, thus increasing the relative contribution of wastewater effluent to surface water flows. Wastewater effluent represents a critical point source of metal and metalloid contamination to aquatic ecosystems and wastewater lagoons are the most common wastewater treatment system in the rural United States. Although the fraction of total wastewater metals and metalloids in "dissolved" forms (defined here asnm) likely drives the potential for negative effects on receiving waters, this broad operational definition lumps truly dissolved solutes (nm) with small colloids and nanomaterials (1-450 nm; hereafter colloids). This size distinction may …