Sharma, SapnaSandrock, Phoenix Kieran2025-11-112025-11-112025-09-242025-11-11https://hdl.handle.net/10315/43396Lakes are rapidly losing ice cover. We expect that ice loss will have widespread ecological consequences, but these consequences are poorly understood, particularly over long temporal scales. Here, we ask: how do changing ice duration and ice quality influence under-ice photic depth, water temperatures, dissolved oxygen concentrations, and chlorophyll a concentrations? We analyzed winter data from 11 lakes across Wisconsin, USA, with time-series extending from 1982 to 2023. Shorter ice durations and less snow were associated with deeper photic depths, colder under-ice water temperatures, and higher dissolved oxygen saturations. Snow and ice conditions were significantly related to chlorophyll a concentrations; however, the relationship was mediated by nutrient concentrations. We suggest that the drivers of under-ice ecology are as complex as those of the open water season and advocate for the use of integrative models to understand the future of ice-covered lakes.Author owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.EcologyLimnologyClimate changeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation2025-11-11Lake iceIce phenologyFreshwaterIce qualityUnder-ice ecology