Using algae to understand human-driven environmental change to aquatic ecosystems
Climatic and anthropogenic pressures are altering the hydrology, temperature, and biota of aquatic ecosystems and are fundamentally changing their ecology. Research in my lab uses algae to explore algal responses to these environmental challenges. Current research explores factors that control the temporal and spatial patterns of N2-fixing cyanobacteria and diatoms with N2-fixing endosymbionts, and the ecological consequence of shifts in algal assemblage structure.
The diatom genus Eunotia Ehrenberg
I research the taxonomy, biodiversity, and ecology of the acid-loving diatom Eunotia (the coolest diatom around!) from a variety of freshwater environments around the globe. If you are interested in collaborating on research on Eunotia please contact me. Checkout the manuscript on diatoms from aerial habitats in Iceland that includes light and scanning electron micrographs of interesting species of Eunotia. A chapter on motility in Eunotia, a diatom with a reduced raphe system, contributes to the contents of a new book, Diatom Gliding Motility.