This project was submitted under the program for Research Opportunities for Women. The research is to collect data and to work out techniques on macroalgae in Arctic tundra streams in order to establish strong, testable hypotheses for future research. This work will be coordinated with the nutrient enrichment experiments of Long Term Ecological Research Program at Toolik Lake. The four objectives address macroalgal distribution and hydrochemistry through three adjacent tundra drainage basins, the productivity of dominant macroalgae species in the nutrient-enriched gradient of the Kuparuk River, the effect of grazers on the occurrence of macroalgae, and the search for macroalgal species as indicators of environmental change. The study will establish some baseline data on macroalgal communities in fertilized and pristine Arctic ecosystems.
