Current Research Projects
| Lake George Monitoring Studies | |
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Institute researchers monitor Lake George and other regional lakes to determine short-term and long term effects of human activity, biological and chemical contamination, acid deposition, and other disturbances. For example, researchers monitor the effects of development and the extent of human activity on Lake George, through funds provided largely by the Fund for Lake George, a private foundation. Lake monitoring research has included studies of phosphorus dynamics, general chemical limnology, contamination by coliform bacteria, and invasion by exotic aquatic vegetation. Lake George is one of the few remaining places where inhabitants regularly consume unfiltered lake water. As a consequence of human encroachment into pristine waters, bacterial concentrations can increase the chance of making water undrinkable. Institute scientists regularly analyze sites on Lake George and the wells of private citizens, for bacterial concentrations, to insure the drinking water is safe. |
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| Zebra Mussels | |
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Non-indigenous species, those species that are not present in the historic record of an area, have been a major area of concern in recent years. Researchers at the Institute are using a unique technique to identify the influx of zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) into the Adirondack and Hudson River regions. The mussels are identified by amplifying genetic material found only in zebra mussels. From this purified genetic material, fluorescent rDNA probes are developed to be used to detect microscopic life stages of the organism unobserved by the naked eye. This work should help the worldwide effort to learn how to control this prolific nuisance (zebra mussels grow in clusters which wreak havoc on the water intake pipes of water treatment facilities, power plants and industry). |
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| Aquatic Plant Ecology | |
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Numerous rivers, streams and lakes in New York serve as sites for study. Of particular concern are exotic plants, such as water chestnut, which is a severe problem in the Hudson-Mohawk river system, and Eurasion watermilfoil, which is proliferating in Lake George and other regional lakes. Research includes mechanisms of establishment of invasive species and measurements of their impact on other members of the food chain. To facilitate research in aquatic plant ecology, the Institute oversees a growing, computer catalogued herbarium of more than 2000 specimens from throughout New York and the Northeast US. |
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| Sedimentation: Linking History to Pollution Chemistry | |
| Patterns and rates of sediment accumulation
vary greatly within natural water systems. Institute researchers
utilize radioactive dating techniques to determine sediment
accumulation rates in Lake George and throughout the Hudson
River Basin. Sites of investigation range from New York
Harbor, to fresh and salt water marshes bordering the Hudson,
to drinking water reservoirs on Hudson River tributaries. Once sediments have been dated, contaminant analysis can provide pollution histories. This technique is being applied to pollutants including PCB's, dioxins, toxic metals like lead, mercury and cadmium. |
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Pelagic Food Web Dynamics and Hypoxia |
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Institute researchers and graduate students are presently examining the food web perturbations resulting from increasing seasonal hypoxia in Trout Lake. The lake is located 20 minutes from Lake George, and provides yearlong recreational and residential benefits to those within the Lake George drainage basin. Ongoing research includes monitoring seasonal temperature, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll a, zooplankton speciation and biomass, hydroacoustic profiling, and the examination of forage species biomass and fish population migrations and speciation. The aim of the research is to develop working models of the pelagic food web that can be used to identify and explain the presence of hypoxic water incursions by fish species. Preliminary results reveal a seasonal pattern for these incursions, and indicate that they are an integral part of an adaptive seasonal foraging strategy employed by the lake’s yellow perch and rainbow trout populations.
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| Impacts of Wastewater Discharges | |
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In addition to the inputs of the contaminants listed above, wastewater discharges to New York Harbor dominate nutrient inputs to the lower Hudson. Long term monitoring of water chemistry has allowed researchers to assess impacts of these discharges on water column chemistry and biology and to evaluate the effectiveness of improvements in wastewater treatment. |
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| Acid Rain in the Adirondacks | |
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Emmisions of sulfur and nitrogen compounds
into the atmosphere led to the acidification of many lakes
in the United States and Europe. Acidification of surface
waters in New York State has occurred in many high elevation
lakes in the Adirondack Mountains, particularly in the southwest
corner of the Adirondack Park, which receives deposition
of compounds originating from power plants and industries
of the mid-western United States. Acidification of lakes led to the loss of fish populations, but also has effected many other communities, including phytoplankton and zooplankton populations. Although sulfur emissions have been mandated to be reduced through the Clean Air Act, it is not clear when or if Adirondack lake water chemistry and biological communities will recover. Nitrogen emissions have not yet been regulated to the extent of sulfur emission, and nitrogen may continue to grow in importance as an acidification agent. DFWI Researchers are leading a multi-institutional effort, (including the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and other organizations), to survey the biological community structure in Adirondack lakes to determine if community and chemical changes have occurred, and to provide baseline information for assessing recovery in the future. These studies focus on the biological community structure in 30 lakes located in the highly impacted southwest corner of the Adirondacks, and encompass studies of trophic levels from bacteria to fish. |
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| Aquatic Habitat Modeling: Submerged Aquatic Vegetation | |
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One of the cornerstones of the hydroacoustic program on Lake George is the development and testing of the systems capacity to accurately delineate underwater plants. In 2006, testing included the identification and mapping of submerged aquatic vegetation in four major bays in the lake. The results of the testing exceeded preliminary expectation, with the ability to identify the invasive species Eurasian watermilfoil (EM) proving highly accurate. Not only did the system identify the occurrence of this plant, but it enabled the expansion of our current capacity to rapidly map its presence on a much larger scale than previously enabled by SCUBA surveys. In addition to rapid identification, the system also proved successful in monitoring and mapping the growth of several macrophyte assemblages in the lake. Building on these successes, researchers were able to effectively map several macrophyte communities, and generate additional identification algorithms that will be tested in 2007. |
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| Brook Trout | |
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Brooktrout Lake was once a thriving fishery, until becoming fishless due to acidification. In recent years, biological and chemical trends suggested the lake was undergoing natural recovery, enough to justify restocking in November 2005. Congruent with this stocking effort a hydroacoustic assessment was initiated to test the applicability of sonar as a non-invasive fisheries tool for small remote lakes. Assessment is performed using a BioSonics DT-X hydroacoustic system (430 kHz, 10 degree beam). Sampling design consisted of matched day and night transect sets, covering roughly 9.6% of the lake volume. Bathymetric data revealed significant differences in habitat as compared to those portrayed by historic maps. Pre-stocking hydroacoustic data analysis yielded no target strength profile indicative of fish. Post stocking data analysis yielded positive identification of adult brook trout. Ongoing challenges include signal interference from dense zooplankton populations, balancing lake coverage and time constraints, and target strength interpretation for juvenile fish. |
| Microbial and Phytoplankton Community Diversity | |
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Complex interactions between bacterial and phytoplankton communities in freshwater systems is a relatively unexplored area of environmental research. These two communities, as primary producers and the lowest members of the food web, are critical to our understanding of the affects that human perturbations have, on freshwater systems. As diversity in these two communities is lost, the affect will be magnified throughout the food web. A better understanding of these interactions and the role that diversity has in the ecosystem will be a major step toward developing conservation and restoration strategies. Molecular techniques and probes are being used for elucidating bacterial and phytoplankton community structure in Lake George and other Adirondack Lakes. |
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