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Associate Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University Research Overview The focus of my research program is to gain a better understanding of lakes and their place in the landscape. I take a landscape perspective to provide the needed understanding for the improved conservation and management of inland lake ecosystems. The principles of landscape ecology provide a powerful means to develop a more robust conceptual understanding of human and hydrogeomorphic controls of lake heterogeneity across space and time. Using a landscape perspective, lakes can be conceptualized as patches (i.e. a fundamental unit of a landscape) that are hierarchically organized in a complex terrestrial and aquatic matrix of natural and human-influenced features that interact at multiple spatial scales. Lakes can be studied at many important spatial scales, such as: within-lake, lake catchment, and landscape, and my research program includes many of them. I am a member of the Center for Water Sciences, Environmental Science and Policy Program, and Ecology, Evolutionary Biology & Behavior program. All of my research is conducted collaboratively with students and faculty at MSU and beyond. Current research focus areas and example projects: (1) The effects of land use on lake ecosystem dynamics Collaborators: Katherine Webster (University of Maine), Mary Bremigan (MSU), Kendra Spence Cheruvelil (MSU), Ty Wagner (MSU) It has been suggested that there is an optimal spatial scale where land use within a given spatial ‘zone’ is most directly linked to characteristics of aquatic ecosystems. Some have suggested that land use closer to a lake or stream more strongly influences the subsequent nutrient concentrations in aquatic ecosystems. However, for lakes, there may not be a single optimal spatial scale, rather different types of lakes may have different relevant spatial scales. Because of the importance of hydrology in determining flow of material from land to water, landscape position may be a key feature to differentiate lake response to land use change. We have several ongoing projects where we are testing the optimal spatial scale with which to examine land-water interactions for lakes. (2) Development of a landscape context paradigm for lake ecosystems. Collaborators: Katherine Webster (University of Maine), Kendra Spence Cheruvelil (MSU), Mary Bremigan (MSU) The lake landscape-context framework: linking aquatic connections, terrestrial features and human effects at multiple spatial scales: Despite calls for a more explicit landscape perspective for lakes, we lack a formalization of these ideas into an integrated conceptual framework that is broadly applicable to a range of lakes and regions. My collaborators and I are working towards developing and refining such a framework. Many existing lake frameworks have been developed for a particular hydrologic setting or omitted humans as important drivers of variation. Interestingly, stream ecologists have a rich history of considering stream ecosystems from landscape perspectives that integrate hydrogeomorphology with ecology. The same is not true for lakes. If the valley rules the stream, what rules the lake? (3) The application of a landscape-context paradigm for lake management and assessment. Collaborators: Kendra Spence Cheruvelil (MSU), R.Jan Stevenson (MSU), Scott Rollins (University of California), Sarah Holden (MI-DEQ), Sylvia Heaton (MI-DEQ) and Eric Torng (MSU) A framework for developing ecosystem-specific nutrient criteria: Integrating biological thresholds with predictive modeling: I have been a part of the Nutrient Criteria Workgroup made up of MI-Department of Environmental Quality managers and biologists, and other MSU researchers to develop an approach for establishing nutrient criteria in lakes and streams. We developed a novel ecosystem-specific framework for developing nutrient criteria from biological thresholds and predictive modeling (BTPM) and applied this framework to lakes in Michigan (MI), U.S. The BTPM framework is extremely flexible in that it can be applied to any aquatic ecosystem type or nutrient and the four components can be implemented in a variety of ways. Our BTPM framework has two additional features: it recognizes that prior to human disturbance, ecosystems varied in their natural nutrient concentrations and it incorporates risk into the decision-making process. (4) Quantifying ecosystem reference conditions. Collaborators: Ty Wagner (MSU), C. Emi Fergus (MSU), Paul Garrison (WI-DNR), Mary Bremigan (MSU), Katherine Webster (University of Maine), Kendra Spence Cheruvelil (MSU) The use of pre-settlement vegetation to classify lake reference conditions: The underlying hydrogeomorphology (geology, vegetation, wetlands, etc.) constrain lake TP levels and establish the range of possible ‘reference’ variation in lakes. Interestingly, few studies have explored relationships between historic landscape features and reference P levels, which are the focus of this study (see C. Emi Fergus’ page for more details). Determining regional reference conditions for freshwater ecosystems: a comparison of approaches and recommendations: Because of the multitude of approaches for determining aquatic ecosystem reference conditions, all with potential advantages and disadvantages, it is often difficult to determine what approach is most appropriate under different ecological and management conditions. Furthermore, most studies that compare approaches limit discussion to reference conditions for some aspect of the biological community. Thus, the purpose of this project is to review the common methods for estimating reference conditions, their data needs, implementation, and assumptions, and to provide ecologists and managers with recommendations as to when certain approaches are most appropriate.