Research    

Biodiversity and Harmful Algal Blooms

While phytoplankton assemblages can be diverse in a spectacular way, sometimes this diversity collapses, especially during harmful algal blooms.  Fish-killing golden algae blooms and cyanobacteria scums are problematic globally.  Our research focuses on the ecology of these problematic species, and seeks to discover the mechanisms that lead to bloom formation and termination, and possible strategies for management.

photo at Phys.org

experiments in the Cinaruco River, Venezuela

Inflows and Lower Trophic Level Responses

Inflows act as disturbances to phytoplankton and benthic algae systems, not only bringing new nutrients to water bodies but also causing hydraulic displacements of resident organisms and ambient nutrients.  But these disturbances often result in succession resets, a phenomenon crucial to food web health and biogeochemical cycles linked to ecosystem hypoxia events in lakes, rivers, estuaries, bays and coastal oceans.

Theoretical and Empirical Ecology

A good portion of our research explores theoretical underpinnings of the mechanisms that sustain biodiversity in plankton systems and attempts to predict succession dynamics.  This theory requires empirical testing, which we do through laboratory microcosm experiments, in-field mesocosm experiments and whole-system monitoring.

experiments in the Lake Whitney, Texas

AlgEternal Technologies, Weimar, Texas