Current research themes in the lab
Freshwater food web ecology -- we aim to understand what controls food web linkages in lakes and streams, and how those linkages vary across space and time. Specific projects include:
Broad scale limnology, data science, and modeling -- we are developing data products and statistical approaches to understand freshwater ecosystems across broad spatial scales and through time. Specific projects include:
Water quality in Wyoming streams and reservoirs -- we are working with state and local agencies to generate information that will inform water quality management in Wyoming. Specific projects include:
Freshwater food web ecology -- we aim to understand what controls food web linkages in lakes and streams, and how those linkages vary across space and time. Specific projects include:
- Eco-evolutionary feedbacks in Trinidad: Decades of study have demonstrated that introducing Trinidad guppies to predator-free environments leads to adaptive evolution of life history, morphological and behavioral traits. This project uses a long-term guppy introduction experiment to evaluate how food web linkages and nutrient cycling change over the course of evolution. We have also developed new statistical methods for analyzing stable isotope tracer data (check out our recent paper). This work is in collaboration with Andres Lopez-Sepulcre (Wash U in St. Louis), Steve Thomas (University of Nebraska), Rana El-Sabaawi (University of Victoria) and Alex Flecker (Cornell University) and many many awesome technicians and trainees, and has been funded by the Academy of Finland and NSF.
- Alpine stream food web ecology: We have been conducting field work in the beautiful alpine streams of Grand Teton National Park to examine how climate change influences food web linkages in alpine streams. This work is being led by graduate student Karen Jorgenson and is in collaboration with a group that has been doing research and monitoring in these study systems for several years, including Lusha Tronstad and Scott Hotaling.
- Food webs and fisheries in Wyoming reservoirs: We are participating in several projects across Wyoming to understand food web linkages in reservoirs and their implications for fisheries management. These are collaborative efforts with Willie Fetzer (UW Zoology and Physiology), Annika Walters (UW Co-op unit), Travis Neebling, Matt Hahn, Jeff Glaid, and others at the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Graduate student Chance Roberts is using stable isotopes to evaluate food web linkages and foraging patterns of different size classes of lake trout in Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Former technician Jaide Phelps is leading a manuscript that is the basis of a new project on the fate of stocked salmonids in several reservoirs on the North Platte.
Broad scale limnology, data science, and modeling -- we are developing data products and statistical approaches to understand freshwater ecosystems across broad spatial scales and through time. Specific projects include:
- Modelscape: This project brings together scientists from across life science disciplines with a shared interest in developing modeling approaches for complex data. Read more about our project here. Postdoc Bella Oleksy is working on this project, postdoc Carolina Barbosa will join us in April 2022, and we are seeking additional postdoc candidates over the next few years, e-mail Sarah if you are interested. This work is funded by the NSF EPSCoR Track II program (link to our project).
- Ecological Stoichiometry (STOICH): In this new project, our interdisciplinary team will combine tools emerging from the data revolution and the ecological stoichiometry framework to advance our understanding of how the supply of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and other essential elements constrain ecological, environmental, and evolutionary processes in aquatic ecosystems. Read more about our project here. PhD student Linnea Rock, technician Casey Brucker, and undergraduate Angela Zhu are all working on this project and postdoc Ben Tumolo will join in April 2022. This work is funded by the NSF EPSCoR Track II program (link to our project).
- Continental Limnology: Sarah continues to collaborate with the Continental Limnology team as they develop the LAGOS database, examine spatial and temporal variation in lake ecosystem properties, and foster collaborations between ecologists, statisticians, and computer scientists. This work is funded by the NSF Macrosystems Biology program.
- Non-stationary spatial models and lake water quality: We recently wrapped up a collaboration with Pavel Chernyavskiy funded through the UW Arts & Sciences seed grant program. In collaboration with postdoc Charlotte Narr, we developed non-stationary models to understand macro-scale patterns in lake water quality using the LAGOS database. Our paper was recently published in Ecological Applications (link).
Water quality in Wyoming streams and reservoirs -- we are working with state and local agencies to generate information that will inform water quality management in Wyoming. Specific projects include:
- Sources of bacterial contamination in Wyoming streams: Many water quality impairments in Wyoming streams and rivers are due to high levels of E. coli. With funding from the State of Wyoming through the Wyoming Water Research Program, we are developing new methods to determine the sources of bacterial contamination so that local conservation districts can successfully improve water quality. This work is in collaboration with Bledar Bisha (UW Animal Science), graduate students Kelsey Ruehling, Clara Bouley, and Harneel Kaur, Wyoming DEQ, the Laramie Rivers Conservation District, Crook County Conservation District and the Teton County Conservation District.
- Harmful cyanobacterial blooms in Wyoming reservoirs: We are using a combination of field and remote sensing data to identify drivers of cyanobacterial blooms in Wyoming reservoirs. This work is funded by the Wyoming Water Research Program and also received small grant funding from UW's Micro EPSCoR project to use genomic techniques to characterize cyanobacterial communities. This work is in collaboration with graduate students Sam Sillen and Ashleigh Pilkerton and co-PIs Annika Walters (UW Co-op unit), Matt Ross (Colorado State University), Willie Fetzer (UW Zoology and Physiology), Lindsay Patterson and Mike Thomas (WY DEQ), and Paul Ayayee (University of Nebraska Omaha).