Browsing by Subject "nutrients"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Hydrologic connectivity and land cover affect floodplain lake water quality, fish abundance, and fish diversity in floodplain lakes of the Wabash-White River basin
    (Wiley, 2022) Carlson Mazur, Martha L.; Smith, Bradley; Bird, Broxton W.; McMillan, Sara; Pyron, Mark; Hauswald, Cassie; Earth Sciences, School of Science
    Floodplain lakes are important aquatic resources for supporting ecosystem services, such as organismal habitat, biodiversity, and the retention of nutrients and sediment. Due to geomorphic alteration of river channels and land-cover change, degradation to floodplain lakes in the Ohio River basin is occurring at a rate that will escalate as climate change causes increased flood intensity and the seasonal redistribution of rainfall. A better understanding of the local drivers that affect oxbow lakes is needed for targeted floodplain restoration efforts designed to slow degradation. We examined the effects of land cover, topography, and hydrologic connectivity on water quality and fish diversity and abundance in nine floodplain lakes with potentially high remnant ecological function in the Wabash-White watershed (Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois). Data collection included water-quality parameters; stable water isotopes; total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and chlorophyll-a; and fish community diversity and abundance. Results indicate that hay/pasture land cover and decreased topographic relief in the local oxbow watersheds, along with reduced river hydrologic connectivity, were related to an increase in total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and chlorophyll-a. Greater biodiversity and abundance in fish assemblages were evident in oxbow lakes that were more disconnected from the main channel. The results of this study suggest that hydrologic connectivity of oxbow lakes with the contributing drainage area and the main channel influence nutrients and fish communities. Knowing the influencing factors can help ecosystem managers better protect these valuable floodplain lake ecosystems and prioritize restoration efforts amidst increasing stressors due to climate and land-use changes.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    INVASIVE SPECIES AND PANNE ECOSYSTEMS: THE EFFECTS OF ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION
    (2008-04-10T14:30:08Z) Nazareth, Cheryl; Filippelli, Gabriel M.; Souch, Catherine J.; Rosenberg, Gary D.
    Pannes are rare intradunal wetlands. Though small, they are known to exhibit extremely diverse and sensitive vegetation and are home to a number of reptile and amphibian species. In the United States, pannes are known to occur only around the Great Lakes Basin and Cape Cod. At Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, the fifteen known pannes have an unusually large variety of plant species for such a small geographic area and provide habitat for plant species found nowhere else in Indiana. However, these sensitive ecosystems have been exposed to over a century of atmospheric pollutants from the surrounding steel and coal industries. Since 1986, the native vegetation of the area is slowly being replaced by invasive species like Phragmites australis and Typha spp. This study attempts to explain the shift in vegetation. Pannes in two other locations, at a distance from the industrial complex, were used as control sites as they were not expected to be exposed to the same levels of heavy metal concentrations. Four of the fifteen pannes at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, two of the four pannes at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan, and two of the three pannes at Warren Dunes State Park, Michigan, were studied, resulting in a total of eight pannes. The pannnes were stratified and sampled by hydroperiod. Surface soil samples and sediments at depth, were recovered from each of the pannes considered in this study and analyzed for heavy metal, phosphorus, carbon and nitrogen content. Results show that high levels of organic matter coupled with high nutrients and high metals, in the soil, are a combination that may be considered a risk factor for future invasion of pannes by invasive species. It appears to be difficult for the native vegetation to deal with the high metals and high nutrients which are deleterious to the native vegetation and facilitate establishment of invasive vegetation which is more tolerant to the altered geochemical conditions.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A Meta-Analysis to Determine the Impact of Restaurant Menu Labeling on Calories and Nutrients (Ordered or Consumed) in U.S. Adults
    (MDPI, 2017-09-30) Cantu-Jungles, Thaisa M.; McCormack, Lacey A.; Slaven, James E.; Slebodnik, Maribeth; Eicher-Miller, Heather A.; Biostatistics, School of Public Health
    A systematic review and meta-analysis determined the effect of restaurant menu labeling on calories and nutrients chosen in laboratory and away-from-home settings in U.S. adults. Cochrane-based criteria adherent, peer-reviewed study designs conducted and published in the English language from 1950 to 2014 were collected in 2015, analyzed in 2016, and used to evaluate the effect of nutrition labeling on calories and nutrients ordered or consumed. Before and after menu labeling outcomes were used to determine weighted mean differences in calories, saturated fat, total fat, carbohydrate, and sodium ordered/consumed which were pooled across studies using random effects modeling. Stratified analysis for laboratory and away-from-home settings were also completed. Menu labeling resulted in no significant change in reported calories ordered/consumed in studies with full criteria adherence, nor the 14 studies analyzed with ≤1 unmet criteria, nor for change in total ordered carbohydrate, fat, and saturated fat (three studies) or ordered or consumed sodium (four studies). A significant reduction of 115.2 calories ordered/consumed in laboratory settings was determined when analyses were stratified by study setting. Menu labeling away-from-home did not result in change in quantity or quality, specifically for carbohydrates, total fat, saturated fat, or sodium, of calories consumed among U.S. adults.