A comparison of the chemistry and animal life of the Sedge Point beachpools and South Fishtail Bay.

Abstract

One of the most continually amazing phenomena in nature is the existence of widely varying ecosystems side by side under undisturbed conditions. Systems of entirely different physical and biological profiles are occasionally found within a few meters of each other, each one maintaining its own strict identity despite the nearness of the other. One example of such a situation is found on Douglas Lake near Pellston, Michigan. Along the northern shore at Sedge Point two beachpools have been formed not more than seventy-five feet from each other or from the shore of Douglas Lake. Yet each of these three systems of open water vary significantly from each other in physical parameters, nutrient concentrations, and plankton and benthos density and diversity. The purpose of this project is to begin to quantify the physical and chemical differences between these areas, and to qualitatively compare the plankton and benthos found during the winter.