Aquatic Ecology and Conservation
We have fairly broad interests in aquatic ecology and conservation. In the ACE lab, we are interested in research to further scientific understanding of how aquatic organisms interact with their environment, with each other, and how they respond to human-induced changes to freshwater habitats. To do this, we employ both experimental approaches and observational field studies.
Juvenile Blue Sucker
Population and Community Dynamics
Understanding the relative contribution of density-dependent and density-independent factors to population and community dynamics is a core goal of population and community ecology. A major focal area of research in the lab is understanding what drives changes in species distribution and abundance over space and time.
Movement Ecology
Aquatic organisms, fishes in particular, need to move among complementary habitats that are patchily distributed in space and time to complete their life cycle and thrive. In contemporary riverscapes, movement is often blocked by dams, diversions, and other barriers. I am keenly interested in how organisms move across riverscapes, where they choose to spend time, and how they respond to attempts to mitigate fragmentation, such as use of constructed fish passages or manual translocation above barriers.
Lincoln Street Dam and Fish Passage (far right) on the Arkansas River, Wichita, Kansas
Invasive Species
Invasive species pose substantial threats to native populations and communities. My research includes both evaluating management actions aimed at reducing invasive species abundance, such as mechanical removal, and investigating the impacts of invasive species on native species.
Collecting diets from invasive Channel Catfish in the San Juan River, Utah.
Climate Change
In collaboration with the National Science Foundation’s Arctic Long-Term Ecological Research (ARC-LTER) program, I am involved in research into the effects of increased warming and disturbance on aquatic ecosystems. This area of research is relatively new and I’m currently exploring new ideas for research projects that leverage existing LTER data or could lead to collection of new data in association with the ARC-LTER.
Arctic lake north of the Brooks Range, Alaska
Arctic Grayling