Institute of Arctic Biology::Life Science Hour Seminars

IAB Life Science Hour Seminar Series

Name:	Wil Wollheim
Affiliation:	University of New Hampshire
Title:	The importance of aquatic ecosystem function at watershed to regional scales
Date:	Friday, 30 September 2016
Time:	3:00PM
Location:	Murie Life Science Bldg, Murie Auditorium.
Host:	Tamara Harms

Abstract:

Human activities result in increasing pollutant and biogeochemical inputs to many freshwater and coastal ecosystems. River networks, which are systems of many water bodies connected by flow (i.e. meta ecosystems), can act to attenuate pollutant loads and may be quantitatively significant contributors to biogeochemical cycling at watershed to global scales. This talk will address the contribution of river networks to numerous environmental issues, ranging from attenuation of water temperature from thermoelectric power plants, dissolved inorganic nitrogen from point and non-point sources, organic carbon from terrestrial sources, and bacterial contamination. The ability of river systems to attenuate each of these inputs ranges considerably, and the controls on this variability will be explored. Factors include river network geomorphology, hydrological conditions, biological demand, and spatial patterns of source/sink areas. Better understanding of these controlling factors will improve management of aquatic resources.

About the Speaker:

Wilfred Wollheim is an associate professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of New Hampshire. He is also co-appointed in the Earth Systems Research Center, is co-director of the Water Systems Analysis Group at UNH, and is a co-PI on the Plum Island Ecosystem Long Term Ecological Research site in northeastern Massachusetts. His research examines biogeochemical cycling in streams and fluvial wetlands; the impacts of land use change, dam removals, beaver pond expansion, and hydrological variability; and the scaling of aquatic function to entire river systems at watershed to global scales. He combines long term monitoring, field experiments, and modeling approaches to address these topics.

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Beginning in 1966 and continuing today, IAB hosts a weekly seminar for faculty, students, staff and the public during the academic year. The series attracts life scientists from Alaska and around the world.

If you wish to meet with a particular speaker, please contact one of the seminar coordinators or the IAB director's office at 907-474-7649.

The 2016-2017 faculty coordinators for this seminar series are Greg Breed and Devin Drown. Beginning in 2013, many of the seminars were recorded and can be viewed online. Speakers are listed in chronological order within academic years.

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