Phytoplankton ecology in the early years of a boreal oil sands end pit lake.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Base Mine Lake (BML) is the first full-scale end pit lake for the oil sands mining industry in Canada. BML sequesters oil sands tailings under a freshwater cap and is intended to develop into a functional ecosystem that can be integrated into the local watershed. The first stage of successful reclamation requires the development of a phytoplankton community supporting a typical boreal lake food web. To assess the diversity and dynamics of the phytoplankton community in BML at this reclamation stage and to set a baseline for future monitoring, we examined the phytoplankton community in BML from 2016 through 2021 using molecular methods (targeting the 23S, 18S, and 16S rRNA genes) and microscopic methods. Nearby water bodies were used as controls for a freshwater environme

SUBMITTER: Furgason CC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10787447 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature