Trent Biology Prof Part of International Team Looking at Ecology Under Lake Ice
Dr. Maggie Xenopoulos looks at the effects of climate change in northern environments
A new study published in the international journal Ecology Letters is striving to improve our understanding of what happens to temperate lakes in the winter when they become covered with ice. As climate change warms lakes around the planet, reducing ice cover and shortening ice seasons, this type of information is increasingly urgent.
Dr. Maggie Xenopoulos, a faculty member in the Biology department at Trent, was part of the international team of 62 scientists that looked at more than 100 lakes across northern climates.
“We know little about what happens to lakes in the winter under the ice. But with climate change and less ice we can’t ignore the winter season anymore. We may be creating dramatically different ecosystems and food webs, even in the summer, since what happens under the ice is connected to what we find in the summer,” said Professor Xenopoulos.
“As ice seasons are getting shorter around the world, we are losing ice without a deep understanding of what we are losing,” said Professor Stephanie Hampton from Washington State University, lead author of the study who worked with Prof. Xenopoulos. “Food for fish, the chemical processes that affect their oxygen, and greenhouse gas emissions will shift as ice recedes.”
These results are significant for Canadians given the expected disproportional effects of climate change on northern environments.