Digital Commons @ Colby

Title

The Missing Link: The Ecology of the Serpentine and the Implications for East and North Ponds

Authors

Colby Environmental Assessment Team, Colby College
Problems in Environmental Science course (Biology 493), Colby College

Document Type

Report

Study Date

2011

Abstract

During the fall of 2011, the Colby Environmental Assessment Team (CEAT) studied the Serpentine connecting East Pond and North Pond. East and North Ponds are members of the larger seven-lake system known as the Belgrade Lakes, located in central Maine. There are over 5,500 lakes in Maine that contribute $6.7 billion to the economy annually through activities including boating, fishing, swimming etc. Additionally, Maine’s lakes are sources of municipal and agricultural water, act as flood buffers, and host a wide range of plant, animal, and fish life. Lakes in Maine are a crucial part society and should be studied and preserved.

Previous research efforts of CEAT have focused on the environmental and ecological parameters associated with a single lake in the Belgrade system. The significance of the linkages between the lakes is understudied. As a result, CEAT 2012 aims to investigate the interconnection between the lake systems of East and North Ponds. In order to evaluate the ecological interactions between East Pond, North Pond, and the Serpentine (the linkage between North and East Ponds), and to assess how these water bodies affect each other, CEAT 2012 conducted a comprehensive survey of the Serpentine environment. Studies including an in depth analysis of land use, surface water chemistry, substrate chemistry, fish communities, algal populations, and plant populations were conducted. In particular, the CEAT 2012 was interested in what role the Serpentine might play in the dynamics of algal blooms within East and North Ponds.

Comments

Publication Date: 2012

Date of Study: Fall 2011

Recommended Citation

Colby Environmental Assessment Team, Colby College and Problems in Environmental Science course (Biology 493), Colby College, "The Missing Link: The Ecology of the Serpentine and the Implications for East and North Ponds" (2011). Colby College Watershed Study: East and North Ponds (2011, 1999, 1996, 1991). 1.
https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/eastnorthponds/1