December 1, 2023
Dry, drying, drought: How do stream communities respond to drying?
Dr. Lindsey Bruckerhoff
Assistant Professor, Ohio State University
Abstract
Intermittent streams dominate river networks but are historically understudied. While many streams experience natural cycles of drying, others are experiencing declines in flow and increased duration and magnitude of drought. Fish and macroinvertebrate communities can shift rapidly and dramatically in response to drying, leading to shifts in ecosystem function. In this seminar, I am going to explore how drying severity influences stream community composition at multiple spatial scales, the impact of community shifts on nutrient dynamics, and recovery of stream communities after drought. These objectives will be addressed by comparing the life cycle of intermittent streams across a drying gradient and by tracking shifts in community structure within a stream experiencing severe drought.
Biosketch
Dr. Lindsey Bruckerhoff is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology at The Ohio State University. Her research applies concepts from community ecology, population biology, and landscape ecology to inform the conservation of freshwater systems. She specifically is interested in understanding how anthropogenic stressors at multiple spatial and temporal scales interact to drive community structure and function in aquatic systems. Much of Dr. Bruckerhoff’s research also aims to understand the role of biotic interactions, especially with non-native species, in driving population and community change across landscape gradients. She uses a wide variety of tools, including comparative field studies, experiments in the field and laboratory, and simulation modeling to address questions that inform the conservation of freshwater systems.