Some experts estimate that a single mature oak tree produces between 200,000 and 1 million leaves each year—all of which fall from the tree in the autumn. Although “litter” from decaying leaves is sometimes viewed as a problem in urban and suburban settings, fallen leaves play a critical role in […]
Eight Ecoss students, faculty, and staff traveled to Detroit, MI in May 2018 to present their research at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Freshwater Science. Undergraduate researcher Zasha Welsh presented a poster, as did graduate students Courtney Roush, Meghan Schrik, Jack Torresdal, and Adam Siders. Ben Koch, Victor […]
PhD and MS positions in Ecosystem Ecology are available in the Center for Ecosystem Science in Society (Ecoss) at Northern Arizona University. The Ecoss mission is to conduct high-impact, innovative research on ecosystems and how they respond to and shape environmental change, to train next-gen scientists, and to communicate discovery […]
Fossil Creek Restoration Can we restore a river after a century of disturbance? Research in the Marks Lab has addressed the following questions: How did native species respond to restoration? Employing a BACI design (Before After Control Impact), we determined the relative importance of flow restoration versus non-native fish removal […]
Overview The identities of organisms profoundly influence ecosystems, and microbial diversity is vast. The obvious disconnect between this diversity and its treatment in C cycling models is perhaps the best manifestation of the common complaint that so much physiology, taxonomy, ecology, and diversity is ignored when microbial communities are described […]
Soil microorganisms are biogeochemical forces of global significance. They affect nutrient availability to plants, the amount of carbon stored in soils, and the evolution of the atmosphere over geologic time. The research we conduct in Ecoss examines many aspects of soil microbial ecology. Metabolic Flux Analysis of Soil Microbial Communities […]
Northern Arizona University: PhD and MS positions in Ecosystem Ecology are available in the Center for Ecosystem Science in Society (Ecoss) at Northern Arizona University. The Ecoss mission is to conduct high-impact, innovative research on ecosystems and how they respond to and shape environmental change, to train next-gen scientists, and […]
As part of a large interdisciplinary team, with funding from the National Science Foundation, we have studied how genetic and environmental factors affect leaf litter quality in cottonwoods and other riparian species, and how these effects are manifest in aquatic ecosystems.