Grant: Alliance Grants

Half of the world's lakes freeze periodically, but the duration of freezing is shortening rapidly. This pattern will have vast consequences at local and global scales. While the presence of ice cover, its duration, and the timing of ice-out are relatively easy to measure, there is very limited information regarding how changes in ice cover conditions influence the ecology of northern freshwaters. This project will address the emerging and pressing need for an understanding of how lake organisms cope with ephemeral and warmer winters across the Northern Hemisphere. Research will be carried out as a collaborative effort with international researchers from academic institutions from the USA, with the aim of building a meta-database of available winter data on different food web variables. We will further work towards evaluating if existing food web biomarker data from different laboratories can be combined in a manner that allows comparative analyses in a high impact global project. The project will provide training for a postdoc, a graduate trainee and an undergraduate student, who will learn broad skills in the aquatic sciences and communication.