Publications

Despite their small spatial extent, fluvial ecosystems play a significant role in processing and transporting carbon in aquatic networks, which results in substantial emission of methane (CH4) into the atmosphere. For this reason, considerable effort has been put into identifying patterns and drivers of CH4 concentrations in streams and rivers and estimating fluxes to the atmosphere...

Aquatic invasive species (AIS) present major ecological and economic challenges globally, endangering ecosystems and human livelihoods. Managers and policy makers thus need tools to predict invasion risk and prioritize species and areas of concern, and they often use native range climate matching to determine whether a species could persist in a new location. However, climate matching...

Measuring suspended sediment in fluvial systems is critical to understanding and managing water resources. Sampling suspended sediment has been the primary means of understanding fluvial suspended sediment. Specialized samplers, sampling methods, and laboratory methods developed by select U.S. Federal Agencies are more representative of river and stream conditions than commonly used grab...

The open waters of large lakes can sometimes become so depleted in important metals that phytoplankton communities become either growth limited or limited in some metabolic function. Metals such as Fe, Ni, Mo, and Zn are used as co-factors for enzymes by phytoplankton in core metabolic functions, as well as metabolic pathways that allow phytoplankton to use less preferred forms of N and...

Dreissenid mussels are one of the most problematic aquatic invasive species (AIS) in North America, causing substantial ecological and economic effects. To date, dreissenid mussel control efforts in open water have included physical, biological, and chemical methods. The feasibility of successful dreissenid mussel management or eradication in lakes is relatively undocumented in the...

Drinking-water quality is a rising concern in the United States (US), emphasizing the need to broadly assess exposures and potential health effects at the point-of-use. Drinking-water exposures to per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a national concern, however, there is limited information on PFAS in residential tapwater at the point-of-use, especially from private-wells. We...

The global transfer of aquatic biota outside their native geographical range has resulted in dramatic changes to biological communities. Many nonnative species introductions are facilitated by human activity and then spread intra-continentally through connected watersheds once established. Resource managers therefore utilize multiple control technologies, such as management chemicals...

Freshwater mussels (order Unionida) play a key role in freshwater systems as ecosystem engineers and indicators of aquatic ecosystem health. The fauna is globally imperilled due to a diversity of suspected factors; however, causes for many population declines and mortality events remain unconfirmed due partly to limited health assessment tools. Mussel-monitoring activities often rely on...

Common loon (Gavia immer (Brünnich, 1764)) foraging patterns and the relative importance of cisco (Coregonus artedi Lesueur, 1818) in the diets of loons were evaluated for the Whitefish Chain of Lakes, a set of coldwater cisco refuge lakes in Minnesota, USA. Environmental DNA metabarcoding of loon fecal samples detected 15 fish species. Yellow perch (Perca flavescens (Mitchill, 1814))...

Metapopulation models include spatial population dynamics such as dispersion and migration between subpopulations. Integral projection models (IPMs) can include demographic rates as a function of size. Traditionally, metapopulation models do not included detailed populaiton models such as IPMs. In some situations, both local population dynamics (e.g. size-based survival) and spatial...

Aquatic systems worldwide can exist in multiple ecosystem states (i.e., a recurring collection of biological and chemical attributes), and effectively characterizing multidimensionality will aid protection of desirable states and guide rehabilitation. The Upper Mississippi River System is composed of a large floodplain river system spanning 2200 km and multiple federal, state, tribal and...

In an investigation of pharmaceutical contamination in the Lac du Flambeau Chain of Lakes (hereafter referred to as “the Chain”), few contaminants were detected; only eight pharmaceuticals and one pesticide were identified among the 110 pharmaceuticals and other organic contaminants monitored in surface water samples. This study, conducted in cooperation with the Lac du Flambeau Tribe’s...