Graduate Students

Nutrient management in Southwestern Minnesota corn fields, with the specific interest in understanding the nitrogen cycle 

Studying freshwater food webs, with a focus on how changing winters will affect lower trophic levels in Minnesota lakes

Watershed science and management

Dietary habits of an underperforming walleye population on a northern Minnesota reservoir. 

Erosional processes of rivers on the north shore of Lake Superior

Detection and transportation of Chronic Wasting Disease in sediments

Tribally directed research on surface water-groundwater interactions within Wild Rice/Manoomin/Psiη lakes

Exploring cyanobacterial diversity across the Great Lakes

Reactive transport modeling of nitrate

Examining the spread of didymo (considered an aquatic nuisance species) throughout the streams that feed into Lake Superior and how it affects the biological communities in affected streams

Data-driven Science, Hydrological and hydraulic modeling

Understanding how wetland fungalbiome influences nutrient cycling, especially as it relates to wild rice and the restoration of degraded or dominant species-shifted habitats.

Assessing the effectiveness of Great Lakes coastal wetland restoration

Hydrology

Winter fisheries dynamics in inland Minnesota lakes

Utilizing fish sensory physiology to manage the spread of invasive species

Characterizing fish communities of Isle Royale's inland lakes using conventional methods and eDNA

Investigating invasive fish physiology, predator prey relationships, and possible management techniques

Determining how turbulence in water flow negatively affects zebra mussels

Using an underwater autonomous glider and fluoroprobes to assess physical and fluorescent properties of deep chlorophyll layers in Lake Michigan and how it relates to optics, HABs, and aquatic food webs

Developing an assay for the detection of environmental DNA from aquatic invasive plants in the upper Mississippi River basin

Aquatic invasive species, specifically invasive zooplankton

Comparing zooplankton assemblages at Isle Royale National Park

Investigating interactions between native and nonnative fish

Examining the intricacies of spring and winter hydrological effects in Minnesota headwaters and peatland landscapes

The interplay of watershed history and fluvial equilibrium through use of remote sensing/mapping, sediment budgets, and sediment provenance and tracing

Detection and tracing of chronic wasting disease through hydrological transport vectors

Groundwater modeling of the Pineland Sands aquifer region to better understand the impacts of intensive irrigation on nearby water bodies and wild rice populations.

Examining modern and paleo-phytoplankton in the Great Lakes

Efficiency of different eDNA methods for invasive species detection in lakes and streams

Using groundwater modeling tools to investigate both the impact of intensive agriculture in the Pineland Sands Aquifer region's water quality and quantity and the impacts of regional groundwater flow and active drainage network dynamics on baseflow recession, solute, and heat transport

Tracing how that PFAS moves through rivers, streams, and other hydrologic systems

Thinning trees in a coast redwood dominated forest affects forest hydrology and watersheds.

Investigating the interactions of tire wear particles and their associated chemical contaminants on aquatic systems

Temporal/seasonal changes to crustacean zooplankton species found in a ballast-rich port using contemporary and historical samples

Nutrient dynamics and community structure that prompt and support harmful algal blooms (HABs)

Studying the impact of winter severity on different trophic levels, aiming to understand how seasonal changes influence the structure of food webs in these systems

Impacts of lake associations on water quality

Urban watershed management to improve and protect local water bodies

Investigating the sublethal impacts of deicing salts on fish behavior

Metagenomic techniques to track harmful algal blooms in Lake Superior and the St. Louis Estuary

Applied research into aquatic plants and lake restoration strategies

Using a data-driven approach to networks and dynamics to suggest management strategies for controlling the spread of aquatic invasive species in the Upper Mississippi River Basin

Extraction and analysis of microplastic samples of multiple sizes from Lake Superior waters

Determine effects of lake character and seasonality on AIS detections probability using eDNA. Optimize field and lab methods for maximizing detection probability of multiple AIS.

Linkage between methanogenesis and the nitrogen cycle in Minnesota's freshwater wetland ecosystem

Conditioning of bighead and silver carp to concurrent acoustic and carbon dioxide deterrents

Studying population demographics and dynamics of Bowfin, Gar, Carpsuckers, Buffalo, and Redhorse species in the St. Croix, Minnesota, and Mississippi rivers

Bioaccumulation of Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Great Lakes sediment and benthic organisms

Using a multi-gear survey approach to improve abundance estimates of pelagic and demersal coregonines on the Great Lakes

Study of organic contaminants in Lake Superior sediments

Investigating invasive fish physiology and related management techniques

Effects of landscape properties on the drought resilience of forested watersheds in northern California

Investigating how communities are heard and can organize to improve access to resources and achieve greater equity in the decision-making process