Nutrient gradient within Mud Lake Bog and how that affects the pigment pattern of Sarracenia.

Abstract

Bogs are one of the most unique wetlands on the planet and provide multiple ecosystem services. The central question we focus on in this study is to find out whether Mud Lake Bog, located near Pellston, Michigan has a nutrient gradient between Mud Lake and the surrounding forest. We then related these nutrient findings to see how the nutrient gradient affects the pigmentation of Sarracenia within the bog. In order to complete this task we sampled for nitrate, ammonium, phosphate, dissolved oxygen, and pH level in order to identify a nutrient gradient and calculated red pixel proportions of pitchers to find the effects the nutrients have on pigmentation. The results showed a nitrate gradient starting low at the lake and raising as we got closer to the surrounding forest. There was no statistical significance related to the other nutrients’ gradients, or a relationship between Sarracenia redness and nutrient availability. This shows that nitrate is affected by some factor at the bog, potentially the makeup of tree communities on either side of our transect. These results also show that other factors besides the visible light spectrum, measured as redness, such as ultraviolet radiation, microhabitat existence, or nectar production may be a more determinant factor related to nutrient availability. Understanding these distinctive habitats can garner information used to implement protection strategies for conservation of these valuable wetlands. Introduction: