Olivia Gaudet
Research Mentor: Wesley Bickford
Mentor Department: U.S. Geological Survey, Other
Author(s): Olivia Gaudet, Wesley Bickford
Session: Session 2 (10:00 AM – 10:50 AM)
Presentation Type: Poster 76
Abstract
Northern wild rice (Zizania palustris, Manoomin) holds great cultural significance to the Anishibabek people in the Great Lakes region. Due to industrialization, the plant has suffered great habitat loss which threatens the species, making restoration efforts a priority for tribal communities. To improve the success of restoration efforts, previous research has aimed to understand the best conditions for Manoomin to grow in. Studies have shown that both germination rates and plant health can be impacted by site conditions. However, research on how the plant responds to varying levels of nutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium) has yet to be conducted. We separated 500 Manoomin seeds into 5 treatments of increasing NPK fertilizer (10-10-10 NPK) concentrations (0ppm, 25 ppm, 50ppm, 75ppm, 100ppm) with 5 replicates each. The 25 samples were kept in small maintained containers before being moved to buckets to track germination and growth. For most of the treatments, the mean percent of seeds that germinated fell within a similar range (59% – 70%). The exception being 25ppm which had significantly lower germination rates at 38%. Once transferred to the buckets, a stress index was created ranking the stress of the plants on a scale of 0 (no browning or mushy leaves) to 5 (the plant has died). The 100ppm and 75ppm had the highest average stress index number at 4.2 and 3.4 respectively. Should this trend continue, it would imply that these plants are very susceptible to health issues and death in the presence of algae caused by too much nutrients. There does not seem to be an obvious cause for any fluctuations in the germination rates of Manoomin seeds with the given treatment. Restorative efforts should therefore keep algal blooms in mind as a hazard to the Manoomin population.
