Dissertation Research: The Effects of Cyanobacterial Blooms on Aquatic Communities and Ecosystem Functioning

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

The alteration of biogeochemical cycles by anthropogenic activity has modified ecological interactions in ecosystems across the globe. In aquatic ecosystems, nutrient pollution has increased eutrophication, creating biological, chemical, and physical differences between low-nutrient (oligotrophic) and high-nutrient (eutrophic) lakes. Simultaneously, blooms of planktonic cyanobacteria are increasing in both types of lakes, with the potential to have substantial effects on ecological dynamics in them. The goal of this research is to determine the effects of cyanobacterial blooms on aquatic communities and ecosystems, and how nutrient pollution mediates the effect of cyanobacterial blooms on lake processes. Field experiments will be combined with an analysis of long-term data from the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network to address these goals. As cyanobacterial blooms increase in frequency and geographical range, understanding their ecological effects is increasingly critical for defining appropriate lake management strategies. Results from this research will inform lake management practices in New England, and will be disseminated to citizen scientists and schoolchildren via collaboration with a non-profit lake association in New Hampshire. The resulting global lake analyses will contribute to a limnology course for high school students and to laboratory modules for undergraduate courses.