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Assessing The Mechanisms And Implications Of Altered Carbon Cycling In Arctic And Boreal Lakes, Rachel Fowler
Assessing The Mechanisms And Implications Of Altered Carbon Cycling In Arctic And Boreal Lakes, Rachel Fowler
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is an important component of lake ecology, as it contributes to light attenuation and carbon cycling. In recent years, DOC declined in a suite of lakes in Greenland. I performed experiments to test potential mechanisms of DOC loss. The tested mechanisms did not reduce DOC concentration, but DOC composition was affected. I also paired water quality data with meteorological observations to evaluate effects of climate drivers on lake variables. The lake variables were temporally coherent and associated with patterns of mean annual precipitation.
In the northeastern U.S., recovery from acidification and climate change have contributed to …
Living On The Edge: Thermophysiology Of The Southern Flying Squirrel At Its Northern Range Margin, Vanessa R. Hensley
Living On The Edge: Thermophysiology Of The Southern Flying Squirrel At Its Northern Range Margin, Vanessa R. Hensley
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Climate change has the potential to upset entire ecological systems, making predictive models of the utmost importance. The incorporation of physiological parameters into predictive models not only bolsters their accuracy but also provides a mechanistic explanation for ecological changes already observed and those yet to come. North American flying squirrels, for example, have already experienced dramatic range shifts northward over recent decades, with climate change being the suspected driver. While other studies have focused on warming winter temperatures, I explored the hypothesis that rising summer temperatures were driving the observed range shifts. Unable to find a reliable population of the …
Ecological And Economic Implications Of Increased Storm Frequency And Severity For Boreal Lakes, Kathryn Warner
Ecological And Economic Implications Of Increased Storm Frequency And Severity For Boreal Lakes, Kathryn Warner
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In boreal regions, increased precipitation events have been linked to increased concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), however less is known about the extent and implications of these events on lakes. We assessed the effects of precipitation events on six drinking water lakes in Maine, USA to better understand how DOC concentration and quality change in response to precipitation events. Our results revealed three types of responses: (1) an initial spike in DOC concentrations and quality metrics; (2) a sustained increase in DOC concentrations and quality metrics and; (3) no change during all sampling periods. Lake residence time was a …