Prairie wetland ecology is a subject of interest in the upper Midwest of the United States and the lower middle part of Canada. It has an effect on wildlife, water table and many other parts of the ecology of this area. The Marsh Ecology Research Program (MERP) was a long term, multi-disciplinary study of effects of water level on the ecology of prairie marshes. The study was conducted on the Delta Marsh in southern Manitoba between 1980 and 1989. Comprehensive, long term monitoring was conducted on water budgets; vertebrates; invertebrates; nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon cycling; macrophyte and algae production; and decomposition of organic matter. This book summarizes the contribution of the MERP to the current scientific understanding of prairie wetland ecology. Part I introduces the MERP study and provides background information. Part II incorporates the information on the nutrient pools and fluxes within the MERP experimental cells with other current information on prairie wetland nutrients. Part III provides state-of-the-art syntheses on individual topics incorporating advances through the MERP with current knowledge in the field. Part IV summarizes wetland management implications of the MERP results and provides an overall summary of the textbook. A series of appendices are also provided including a summary of the MERP field and laboratory techniques. Students, researchers, or anyone interested in the ecology of wetland systems will find a wealth of knowledge in Prairie Wetland Ecology.