Major
Environmental Science
Anticipated Graduation Year
2022
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
The invasive hybrid cattail, Typha x glauca (hereafter, Typha) forms dense monocultural stands in the shallow waters of Great Lakes coastal wetlands. When Typha dies, its biomass accumulates in nutrient-rich floating mats. I hypothesized that the sediment in wetlands invaded by Typha will have significantly higher levels of carbon and nitrogen due to the accumulation of organic litter by Typha. I analyzed sediment samples from Typha invaded and uninvaded coastal wetlands to determine how biodiversity affects sediment nutrient composition paired with water level gradients. I found that sediment taken from deep water zones had lower concentrations of carbon and nitrogen.
Faculty Mentors & Instructors
Drew Monks, Research Associate, School of Environmental Sustainability; Dr. Brian Ohsowski, Assistant Professor, School of Environmental Sustainability; Shane Lishawa, Research Associate, School of Environmental Sustainability; Sam Schurkamp, Graduate Student, School of Environmental Sustainability
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Effect of invasive Typha on sediment nutrient composition of Great Lakes coastal wetlands across a water depth gradient
The invasive hybrid cattail, Typha x glauca (hereafter, Typha) forms dense monocultural stands in the shallow waters of Great Lakes coastal wetlands. When Typha dies, its biomass accumulates in nutrient-rich floating mats. I hypothesized that the sediment in wetlands invaded by Typha will have significantly higher levels of carbon and nitrogen due to the accumulation of organic litter by Typha. I analyzed sediment samples from Typha invaded and uninvaded coastal wetlands to determine how biodiversity affects sediment nutrient composition paired with water level gradients. I found that sediment taken from deep water zones had lower concentrations of carbon and nitrogen.