UNH Center for Freshwater Biology Study Lakes

With support from UNH, the USDA Agriculture Experiment Station, US Geological Survey and the US Environmental Protection Agency, the UNH Center for Freshwater Biology has been intensively assessing a subset of approximately 50 lakes within the state that represent the wide range of lake condition, regional character (geology, climate, biology) and watershed development. The initial purpose of these assessments was to survey the extent of algal biotoxins, harmful and toxic compounds associated with blooms of blue-green algae (cyanophyta) that could be measured in water, bottom sediments, phytoplankton, zooplankton, fish, mussels and crayfish. However, work continues on this group of lakes (and subsets of this group) further investigating biotoxin accumulations as well as landcover/water quality relationships and additional lake ecology concepts, theories and models.