Biocomplexity; Coordinated Field Studies: Littoral Macrophytes

The aquatic vegetation of 60 lakes selected for the "cross-lake comparison" segment of the Biocomplexity Project was surveyed during the month of August in years 2001 through 2004. The study lakes are located in Vilas County, Wisconsin and were chosen to represent a range of positions on gradients of both human development and landscape position. The purpose of the macrophyte portion of the "cross-lake comparison" study was to evaluate the roles of landscape position and human development in the presence and composition of macrophyte communities. The macrophyte surveys were performed at eight sites within each of the 60 lakes. The sites were chosen by randomly selecting two 50m segments of shoreline per compass quadrant of each lake. At each site, we examined the macrophytes to a depth of 2m along a 50 m long transect perpendicular to the shoreline, beginning at the center point of the 50m segment of shoreline selected for the site. Within a ? m2 quadrat at every meter mark, we noted the species present, the dominant species, the substrate composition and the total percent vegetation cover. If a depth of 2 m was reached before 20 quadrats were measured, a second transect was performed 25 m to the right of the initial point. The distances from shore at 1 m depth and 2 m depth were also recorded on each transect for an estimate of slope. Sampling Frequency: each site sampled onceNumber of sites: 60 Vilas County lakes were sampled from 2001-2004 (approximately 15 different lakes each year)