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ARE COASTAL WETLAND-LAKE LINKAGES IMPORTANT?
Citation:
Brazner, J. C., M E. Sierszen, J. Keough, AND D K. Tanner. ARE COASTAL WETLAND-LAKE LINKAGES IMPORTANT? Presented at Wisconsin Wetlands Association, Madison, WI, November 5, 1999.
Description:
Because coastal werlands typically comprise only a small percentage of the overall surface area in large lakes, an assumption has often been made that functional links between wetlands and the lake proper are of little significance. Recent investigations of functional linkages between coastal and offshore areas in large lakes suggest that wetland/littoral processes can influence whole ecosystem function more than their size alone suggests. Accurate assessment of the whole ecosystem function more than their size alone suggests. Accurate assessment of the importance of Great Lakes coastal wetlands depends upon identification and analysis of relevant parameters. Measurement of actual or potential exchange of nutrients, energy, organisms, or other materials between coastal wetlands and the adjacent lake can be used to quantify inshore-offshore connections. In this paper, we provide several examples from the Laurentian Great Lakes that examine coastal wetland-offshore connections in various ways and suggest these as a starting point for assessing the importance of fringing wetlands in large lakes. Although our main objective is to identify and describe methodologies for assessing wetland-lake linkages, our examples of relative primary productivity contributions, wetland/fisheries yeild relationships, examples of relative primary productivity contributions, wetland-offshore food web connections, and fish-mediated nutrient exchange provide additional evidence that coastal wetlands have significant ecosystem roles in the Laurentian Great Lakes.