Constancy of macrophyte assemblage and abundance in 3 protected Adirondack lakes over 8 decades – implications for management of local and regional stressors

Macrophytes are important primary producers and defining structural organisms in littoral zones. Species composition, diversity and biomass of macrophytes in temperate zone lakes have been altered by anthropogenic perturbations, including nutrient loading increases, sediment runoff, road salt, acidification and introduction of non-native macrophyte species. The Huntington Wildlife Forest (HWF), a 6,000 hectare research field station within the Adirondack Park, has been managed by the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry for almost 100 years. In 1940, a comprehensive survey of the littoral zone vegetation of 5 lakes at HWF was conducted, including  qualitative and semi-quantitative surveys of the species composition and relative abundance of littoral vegetation of 5 lakes within the boundaries of the Huntington Wildlife Forest (Heady, 1942). We repeated those surveys 80 years later, at 3 of the lakes at Heady’s sites, using the original semi-quantitative methods paired with quantitative scuba collection methods. We compared species composition and dominance in both time periods. We accessed current species composition for the 2 other now publicly accessible lakes in Heady’s publication. These lakes have higher qualitative density scores, and presence of invasive macrophytes. In contrast, the protected lakes had nearly identical species composition and relative abundance as in the historical surveys, suggesting resilience of macrophyte assemblages to climate change and acid deposition, but susceptibility to invasive species.

Presentation Preference: Standard Oral (12 Minutes)

Primary Presenter: Kimberly Schulz, SUNY ESF (kschulz@syr.edu)

Authors:

Kimberly Schulz, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry  (kschulz@syr.edu)

Carrick Palmer, New York State Department of Conservation  (Carrick.Palmer@dec.ny.gov)

Stacy McNulty, Adirondack Ecological Center, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry  (smcnulty@esf.edu)