Our new peer-reviewed paper is out in the journal Inland Waters. We studied how nitrogen and phosphorus can limit phytoplankton growth in freshwater lakes. We performed identical experiments in 16 lakes across northeastern United States; we found that phytoplankton communities were limited by nitrogen in some lakes, phosphorus in others, and both in more. The limitation was related to land-use and lake characteristics.
This was a large co-authored paper with many participants including professors and students across 12 institutions. The project stemmed from our annual northeastern Global Lakes Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) meeting where we co-developed the project and experimental design. The study was led by an amazing group of undergraduates, Abby Lewis (Pomona College ’19), Brian Kim (Colby College ’18), Hailee Edwards (SUNY New Paltz ’18), and Heather Wander (SUNY New Paltz ’18) along with Denise Brueswitz (Professor at Colby College) and myself. Our group worked incredibly hard on the data analysis, writing, and coordinating a large collaborative group.