Predictions of fire effects on aquatic habitats in boreal ecosystems
In collaboration with an interdisciplinary team at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and funded by the Department of Defense, I am working to develop an improved understanding of spatial variation in drivers of vulnerability (e.g., fire + climate change) for aquatic habitats and fish populations in boreal ecosystems across interior Alaska. Capitalizing on models that predict climate, fire, vegetation, hydrologic, and thermal dynamics in these habitats, our goals are two-fold:
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1) Integrate a spatially- and temporally-explicit downscaled rainfall-runoff hydrologic model and riverscape stream temperature model based on output from fire, vegetation, and permafrost models
2) Predict fire and climate change impacts on aquatic habitats and population vulnerability across a broad extent in the interior Alaska boreal forest
2) Predict fire and climate change impacts on aquatic habitats and population vulnerability across a broad extent in the interior Alaska boreal forest
Within these goals we are addressing questions including: What is the distribution of high quality salmon spawning and rearing habitats in interior Alaska? How might stream thermal and hydrologic regimes change in the future under scenarios of fire and climate change in this area? How will changes to vegetation, permafrost, fire regimes, and climate impact the distribution and quality of aquatic habitats? Is there spatial variation in the relative magnitude of fire and climate impacts on aquatic habitats?
From these modeling efforts, we will also develop decision support tools to translate our results as well as assist management decision-making and meet conservation objectives.
From these modeling efforts, we will also develop decision support tools to translate our results as well as assist management decision-making and meet conservation objectives.
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Freshwater habitat potential for Chinook salmon in the Yukon and Kuskokwim River basins, Alaska
[coming soon]
Drivers of zooplankton communities in a highly-altered desert lake
As a postdoctoral researcher with the Gaeta Lake Ecology Lab at Utah State University, I implemented a structural equation modeling approach to evaluate the links and interaction strengths in Utah Lake, UT, between zooplankton community structure and other trophic levels (e.g., fishes), as well as the effects of environmental and anthropogenic stressors including phosphorus loading, temperature, and multiyear drought.
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[cover photo: looking towards the Wasatch Front from Utah Lake, UT (credit: D. Pluth)]