Department of Fisheries & Wildlife

Orlando Sarnelle  Associate Professor Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Natural Resources Building Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824-1222  (517) 353-4819 FAX: (517) 432-1699 Office: Room 163A Email: sarnelle@msu.edu

News

The Center for Water Sciences 

Photograph of toxic algal scum

Education

Ph. D. - University of California, Santa Barbara.

M. S.  - University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

B. S.   - Rutgers University.

Research

I am a member of the Ecology, Evolutionary Biology & Behavior program and the Center for Water Sciences at MSU, and an adjunct faculty member at the W. K. Kellogg Biological Station.  I am also a member of the Editorial Board of Ecology/Ecological Monographs.

Selected projects:

Zebra mussels and toxic algal blooms in lakes- We are investigating the link between zebra mussel invasion and the incidence and severity of blue-green algal blooms in Michigan lakes.  We are conducting large-scale experiments to determine the functional relationship between zebra mussel abundance and phytoplankton biomass and species composition.   We have demonstrated that zebra mussels increase the abundance of Microcystis aeruginosa, a toxic phytoplankton species, and the concentration of microcystin toxin, in lakes with low to moderate nutrient levels. This finding has radical implications for both the field of limnology and for the management of water quality.

Interactions between Daphnia and cyanobacteria in eutrophic lakes- We are currently working to extend previous counter-intuitive results regarding the impact of Daphnia grazing on supposedly-inedible cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), and conversely, the effect of cyanobacteria on Daphnia's dynamics.  This research has implications for the control of nuisance cyanobacteria in productive lakes.  We have recently demonstrated that Daphnia pulicaria collected from lakes with high concentrations of cyanobacteria are better able to grow on a diet of 100% toxic cyanobacteria than individuals of the same species collected from lakes with little or no cyanobacteria.

High Sierra Experimental Lakes- We are examining how the removal of an exotic predator influences population, community and ecosystem dynamics at the whole-lake scale.  High-elevation lakes in the Sierra were once fishless, with a unique set of planktonic and benthic species that are driven locally extinct by the stocking of exotic trout. From a set of whole-lake manipulations, we have demonstrated that the probability of recovery from local extinction is much lower for sexually-reproducing copepods than for asexually-reproducing Daphnia.  We are currently working to quantify the effect of mate limitation in preventing the re-establishment of sexually-reproducing copepods, despite the presence of viable resting eggs in the sediment.  We have also quantified the effect of fish removal and zooplankton recovery on primary producers in these lakes.


Meta-analysis- I have been part of a working group sponsored by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis examining issues regarding the application of meta-analysis to ecological questions. Meta-analysis, the quantitative synthesis of published experimental results, holds great promise for prediction and generality, but the techniques used in classical meta-analysis require conceptual modification before being applied in ecology.  A recent meta-analysis we conducted uncovered consistent evidence of a Type 3 functional response in Daphnia.

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Graduate Students

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Information about admission requirements and applying for graduate study

Courses

• FW364    Ecological Problem Solving (Spring)
• ISP217    Water and the Environment
• ISP217L  Water and the Environment Laboratory

Selected Publications