This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (CFDA 47.074 - Biological Sciences) in the amount of $488,890 provides funding to the University of Notre Dame to study the response of biodiverse freshwater ecosystems to environmental changes caused by rising sea levels. The researchers will use the Izabal/Golfete system, a freshwater ecosystem in Eastern Guatemala, as a natural experiment to investigate how gradual versus rapid marine water inundation impacts the environment and biodiversity. Through sediment core analysis, water sampling, and genetic methods, the project aims to reveal how this ecosystem and its functional diversity respond to different degrees of marine flooding. This knowledge will help inform management and conservation efforts for at-risk coastal freshwater ecosystems facing the threat of sea level rise. The award period is from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2028.