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University of Idaho
Moscow, ID 83844-1136

Office Phone:
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email: fwilhelm@uidaho.edu

 

RESEARCH in the UI LIMNOLOGY LAB

Current Projects

                                           

Using large enclosures to examine
effects of Long distance circulators
on cyanobacteria and zooplankton
in Willow Creek reservoir

Goals:

  • provide replicated large volumes to compare treated (LDC applied to whole lake) vs untreated (enclosures) areas of lake

  • enclosures are open at bottom and penetrate to 11m, well below the thermocline of 5-6 m.

 



 

Determination of the role of Mysis relicta
in the nutrient budget of surface waters
in Lake Pend Oreille and it's relation to
kokanee survival.
(Tim Caldwell, MS)

Goals:                      

  • determine role of Mysis in cycling of nutrients in surface waters of LPO

  • use bioenergetic modeling to
    examine whole-lake nutrient dynamics

  • examine restoration options


Laboratory rearing of the federally
l
isted Illinois cave amphipod.
(Dan Nelson MS)

Goals:                         

  • establish a rearing protocol to develop a laboratory population

  • provide amphipods for experiments to determine lethal thresholds of environmental parameters
  • provide management guidelines

 

Use of Long Distance Circulation (LDC) to control blue-green algal blooms and effects of LDC on the spatial distribution of zooplankton.(Cindy Adams MS)

Goals:                      

  • examine effects of long distance circulation on spatial (horizontal and vertical distribution of zooplankton Willow Creek Lake

  • determine public response to presence of LDCs in WCR

                                                              
 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Photos: Joe Eilers

Completed Projects

Restoration of a small pond impacted by a brine spill from oil and gas development.

Goals:

  • create bathymetric map of pond

  • calculate mass of chloride in monimolimnion
  • install aerators to destratify the pond and remove meromixis
  • monitor whole-lake chloride conc.
  • monitor plankton and benthic communities to examine potential impacts of chloride mixing

 




 
Bathymetric mapping of lakes in the Shawnee National Forest

Goals:

  • map bathymetry of a variety of lakes in the Shawnee National Forest to estimate sedimentation rates and provide baseline for water level management

  
Aquatic Community Inventory of Wells and Cisterns in the Shawnee National Forest (SNF)

Goals:

  • locate and sample the water chemistry and biological community in old homestead wells across the Shawnee National Forest
  • set up shallow groundwater monitoring
    network across the SNF using these old wells
  • access hard to sample groundwater fauna

 

 

 

 

Life history, reproductive strategy and growth of Palaemonetes kadiakensis in a southern Illinois Lake.

Goals:

  • determine life cycle length and  general life history characteristics
  • compare inter-annual growth rates and reproductive strategies
  • understand seasonal lipid dynamics
  • potentially culture as source of essential fatty acids for inclusion in aquaculture feeds

 

Long-term restoration of Campus Lake

Goals:

  • reduce nutrient input to Campus Lake
  • reduce/prevent noxious algal blooms
  • increase aesthetic aspects of lake, install handicapped fishing pier
  • install aerators to reduce hypolimnetic oxygen depletion

 

 


 

 

Ecology and Seasonal Lipid Dynamics of
Amphipods in Southern Illinois

Goals:

  • identify amphipod species in lakes of southern Illinois
  • determine their ecology, life history and reproductive strategies
  • use this information to predict fate of aquatic invertebrates with rising water temperatures associated with climatic warming
  • study seasonal lipid dynamics by measuring total lipids and selected fatty acids
  • identify amphipod species with fatty acid profiles suitable for the culture of food fish

Seasonal Physiological Requirements of Cave Amphipods in Illinois

In collaboration with Steve J. Taylor (Principal Investigator), Center for Biodiversity, Illinois Natural History Survey

Goals:

  • examine the ecology of amphipods in caves of Illinois including the federally endangered Illinois Cave Amphipod (Gammarus acherondytes)
  • provide basic ecological information on G. acherondytes to aid managers in its recovery
  • use computer-controlled electrodes to measure the oxygen consumption of cave amphipods

 

   

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