STOERMER DEB-9870218 A Mongolian-American International Partnership is proposed to survey a group of algae from poorly known Lake Hovsgol in Mongolia. Lake Hovsgol is a second, less-famous, ancient, large lake located in NW Mongolia and within the rift zone that also contains Russia's Lake Baikal. The partnership of scientists from the University of Michigan and the Mongolian State University will complete a floristic survey of the diatom algae within Mongolia's Lake Hovsgol National Park with simultaneous collection of environmental data. This group of algae are important as indicators of environmental change and as tools of paleoecological reconstruction. Ancient lake systems also contain organisms of great interest to science, because the species are indigenous to these lakes. The partnership will result in the documentation of between 600-1000 species, many that are new to science and probably endemic to Lake Hovsgol. Additional results of the partnership will include the training of Mongolian students in the study of diatoms, the creation of the first permanent diatom herbarium and reference collection in Mongolia, and the publication of a diatom flora in book and electronic format. Integration of collections and collection data with a proposed GIS and established herbaria in the United States and Europe will insure accessibility of findings to a large international audience.
