Road salt application and salt-laden run-off are common, yet little information exists about its influence on periphyton. I measured extracelluar enzyme activity and photosynthetic activity of natural winter stream periphyton communities under various short-term laboratory salt exposures. The results of this study suggest that short-term exposure to increased concentrations of salt did not affect extracelluar enzyme activity but could temporarily reduce the photosynthetic activity of the periphyton. Further work will be necessary to understand the longterm effects of increased salt concentrations on periphyton and extracellular enzyme activity.
","abstract_html":"<p>Road salt application and salt-laden run-off are common, yet little information exists about its influence on periphyton. I measured extracelluar enzyme activity and photosynthetic activity of natural winter stream periphyton communities under various short-term laboratory salt exposures. The results of this study suggest that short-term exposure to increased concentrations of salt did not affect extracelluar enzyme activity but could temporarily reduce the photosynthetic activity of the periphyton. Further work will be necessary to understand the longterm effects of increased salt concentrations on periphyton and extracellular enzyme activity.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Cook, Leah"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Steven N. Francoeur, PhD, Chair","Peggy Liggit, PhD","Gary Hannan, PhD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-02-22T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-02-22T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:51Z","subjects":["Periphyton","road salt","salt","runoff","stream","Biology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/410","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Steven N. Francoeur, PhD, Chair","Peggy Liggit, PhD","Gary Hannan, PhD"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Cook, Leah"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2012-09-06T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Periphyton","road salt","salt","runoff","stream","Biology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/410"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Road salt application and salt-laden run-off are common, yet little information exists about its influence on periphyton. I measured extracelluar enzyme activity and photosynthetic activity of natural winter stream periphyton communities under various short-term laboratory salt exposures. The results of this study suggest that short-term exposure to increased concentrations of salt did not affect extracelluar enzyme activity but could temporarily reduce the photosynthetic activity of the periphyton. Further work will be necessary to understand the longterm effects of increased salt concentrations on periphyton and extracellular enzyme activity.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Effects of road salt on photosynthetic and enzyme activity of stream biofilms"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Steven N. Francoeur, PhD, Chair","Peggy Liggit, PhD","Gary Hannan, PhD"],"dc:creator":["Cook, Leah"],"dc:date.available":["2012-09-06T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Road salt application and salt-laden run-off are common, yet little information exists about its influence on periphyton. I measured extracelluar enzyme activity and photosynthetic activity of natural winter stream periphyton communities under various short-term laboratory salt exposures. The results of this study suggest that short-term exposure to increased concentrations of salt did not affect extracelluar enzyme activity but could temporarily reduce the photosynthetic activity of the periphyton. Further work will be necessary to understand the longterm effects of increased salt concentrations on periphyton and extracellular enzyme activity.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/410"],"dc:subject":["Periphyton","road salt","salt","runoff","stream","Biology"],"dc:title":["Effects of road salt on photosynthetic and enzyme activity of stream biofilms"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:51Z"}