viii Preface 



There are a number of possible approaches to the study of the ecology 

 of tundra ponds. We concentrated first on measuring the fluxes of carbon, 

 nitrogen, and phosphorus through the ecosystem. Next, we used a variety 

 of manipulations, ranging from changed light conditions for plankton in a 

 small bottle to an increase in phosphate in a whole pond, to investigate the 

 controls of various processes. While the field work was going on, we also 

 constructed a mathematical model of the ecosystem. This left little time 

 for detailed studies of the ecology of individual species although several 

 dominants, such as Daphnia middendorffiana and a Chironomus sp., were 

 examined. Most effort was put into nutrient cycling studies and into 

 investigations of the lower trophic levels. Some areas, such as the control 

 of zooplankton species composition or the physiology of individual species 

 of algae, were not well studied. 



Most of this book was written during the summer of 1974, and was 

 later edited for consistency of style and overall integration. The portion of 

 Chapter 7 on the insect larvae was completely rewritten in 1978, and, by 

 the author's request, the section of Chapter 6 by R. Stross was not edited. 



The book is organized in a conventional fashion with the physical and 

 chemical information first followed by the descriptions of the primary 

 producers, secondary consumers, etc. Each chapter ends with an extensive 

 summary; a good idea of the important parts of the limnology of the pond 

 can be gained from these. Chapter 1 consists of a summary of the 

 conclusions of the overall study but only those conclusions that are most 

 interesting to an ecologist. In this way, we attempt to answer the question, 

 "What new things did you discover?" 



Excellent logistics and laboratory support were provided by the Office 

 of Naval Research through its Naval Arctic Research Laboratory at 

 Barrow. Two former directors of this laboratory. Max C. Brewer and John 

 Schindler, deserve particular credit for facilitating this support. Gene E. 

 Likens of Cornell University reviewed the first draft of this book and 

 Colleen M. Cavanaugh and Kate Eldred of the Marine Biological 

 Laboratory provided valuable editing services. Harold Larsen, USA 

 CRREL, prepared the illustrations and the CRREL editorial staff under 

 the direction of Stephen Bowen provided valuable assistance throughout 

 the preparation of this book. Kathleen Salzberg, editor of Arctic and 

 Alpine Research, provided assistance in editing the references. Typesetting 

 was done by The Job Shop, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and by Donna 

 Murphy of CRREL. Special thanks go to George Llano, formerly of the 

 National Science Foundation, for his administrative guidance and his 

 sympathetic understanding of the difficulties of running a large scientific 

 study in the Arctic, and to Jerry Brown for his assistance in the field 

 aspects of the program and in publication of this volume. 



John E. Hobbie 



