Project Page Views: [ 714 ]
| Project Metadata Element | Details |
| Project Title | Irish Ecoregion Community Training-set and Ecological Restoration Targets |
| Research Area | Water |
| Project Acronym | |
| Principal Investigator or Lead Irish Partner | Catherine Dalton |
| Lead Institution or Organisation | University of Limerick (UL) |
| Lead Country | Ireland |
| Latitude, Longitude (of Lead Institution) | 52.67389, -8.57190 |
| Lead Funding Entity | Environmental Protection Agency |
| Approximate Project Start Date | 01/05/2003 |
| Approximate Project Finishing Date | 01/11/2006 |
| Project Website (if any) | |
| Links to other Web-based resources | |
| Project Keywords | Lake; Typologies; Restoration targets; Plankton |
| Project Abstract | This project will examine aquatic planktonic and benthic elements in Irish lake typologies to develop ecological restoration targets. This will be achieved via the development of a community-based training-set (incorporating diatoms and cladocera), application of palaeolimnological techniques and the use of analogue matching. Diatoms and cladocera are the most abundant of freshwater organisms, are very sensitive to a wide range of chemical and environmental factors, and leave readily identifiable signatures in the sediment record. The project will utilise the historical record in lake sediments by comparing it to contemporary communities in a range of modern reference lakes. Examination of a range of sediment time slices, prior to deterioration in lake water quality, will help determine a range of target conditions for partial or complete restoration in water quality. |