Keynote and Plenary Speakers

The opening session will take place on Sunday evening, 6 June. This session will include a welcome and address by both society presidents and will be highlighted by a keynote speaker. Plenary talks will take place during the morning and will be immediately followed by a society award presentation and talk given by that day’s award recipients. A special evening outreach session is planned on Tuesday. Wednesday will focus largely on society awards. A more specific schedule which lists the keynote and plenary speakers by day will be posted soon. Specific days will be assigned to the plenary talks once the scientific program has been set.

Confirmed keynote and plenary speakers and presentations include:

Arid Land Rivers: “Boom and Bust” …or Buggered?

Stuart Bunn , Director , Australian Rivers Institute , Griffith University , Queensland, Australia  and Cliff Dahm, Lead Scientist, Science Program, CALFED Bay – Delta Program, Sacramento, California USA

Abstract: Dryland river systems have received little attention from aquatic scientists compared to those in more humid regions, even though they drain more than half of the world’s land mass and support nearly 40% of the human population. Most are losing systems, with discharge per unit area decreasing rapidly downstream from headwater regions. While some are dependent on snow-pack or glacial melt in mountainous headwaters and have relatively stable base-flow conditions, many sit at the extreme end of the flow variability spectrum with discharge dependent on episodic monsoonal rain events. Because of their unique climatic and flow settings, dryland rivers are often highly productive systems with characteristic boom and bust ecologies. Many are associated with vast floodplain wetland systems that support large populations of fish, migratory birds and other wildlife during seasonal or episodic flood events. For much of the time, however, many consist of a chain of fragmented waterholes. These provide important refugia for aquatic biota during protracted intervals between flows, as well as sustain terrestrial wildlife and human settlements. Water diversion remains the single biggest threat to dryland rivers and overexploitation of water resources has led to spectacular wetland losses in some systems. Even modest levels of water abstraction, especially during dry periods, can lead to increased fragmentation of aquatic habitat and loss of permanent refugia. Climate change is likely to compound this problem and further increase flow variability and dry-spell duration. During dry periods, evaporative losses, transpiration requirements of riparian vegetation, and groundwater-surface water interactions become important hydrological processes. Unfortunately, much of our routine flow measurement and modelling is designed to meet human water needs and does not deal well with the low-flow end of the hydrological regime. As a consequence, our ability to manage environmental flow requirements for important ecological assets in dryland rivers is heavily constrained.

Biographical Information, Stuart Brunn: Professor Bunn is the director of the Australian Rivers Institute at Griffith University in Brisbane.  His major research interests are in the ecology of river and wetland systems with a particular focus on ecosystem processes, and he has published widely on this topic.  Bunn has extensive experience working with international and Australian government agencies on water resource management issues.  He is a member of the Scientific Steering Committee for the Global Water System Project, the chair of the Scientific Advisory Panel for the Lake Eyre Basin Ministerial Council and the deputy chair of the Scientific Expert Panel for the Southeast Queensland Healthy Waterways Partnership.  He also leads the Australian Climate Adaptation Research Network for Water Resources and Freshwater Biodiversity and in 2008 was appointed as a national water commissioner.  In 2007, Bunn was awarded the Australian Society for Limnology Medal in recognition of his outstanding contribution to research and management of Australia’s inland waters.

Biographical Information, Cliff Dahm: Professor Dahm is currently the lead scientist for the CALFED Science Program in Sacramento, California.  He is an ecosystem ecologist with expertise in restoration ecology, biogeochemistry, microbial ecology, hydrology, climatology and aquatic ecology.  He is presently on loan to the U.S. Geological Survey from the University of New Mexico (UNM), where he is a professor in the Department of Biology.  He emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches required for understanding aquatic ecosystems.  He has served as interim director for the Sevilleta Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in central New Mexico, director for the Freshwater Sciences Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program at UNM and is currently a member of the Science Steering Group for the Global Water Budget Program of the U.S. Global Change Research Program.  He has served as a program director for the Division of Environmental Biology of the National Science Foundation and was awarded the NSF’s Director’s Award for Program Management Excellence.

Interdisciplinary Science for Global Change:  What Can Be Learned from Successes of Limnology and Oceanography?

Steve Carpenter, Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin   USA

Abstract: This talk will describe the current turbulence in global change science, the enormous need for effective interdisciplinary research, the successes in limnology and oceanography, the roles of site-specific research and cruises. The presentation will try to connect the dots to how global change research could benefit from the model provided by successful limnology and oceanography programs.

Biographical Information: Steve Carpenter’s research addresses trophic cascades and their effects on production and nutrient cycling, contaminant cycles, freshwater fisheries, eutrophication, nonpoint pollution, ecological economics of freshwater, and resilience of social-ecological systems. From 2000 to 2005 he led the Scenarios Working Group of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. He is passionate about innovation for resilience of people and nature and leads a new program of the International Council of Science to advance basic research on social-ecological systems. Carpenter has been recognized for excellence in research by the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Medal of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, election to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and other honors.  He serves as the director of the Center for Limnology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he is the Stephen Alfred Forbes Professor of Zoology.  He is co-editor in chief of Ecosystems, and he is a member of governing boards for the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, Resilience Alliance, and South American Institute for Resilience and Sustainability Studies. Carpenter has published five books and about 300 scientific papers, book chapters, reviewed reports and commentaries.

A Role for Aquatic Ecology in Addressing Pharmaceutical Compounds in Aquatic Ecosystems

Emma Rosi-Marshall, Associate Scientist, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY USA

Co-author on the paper is Todd V. Royer, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.

Abstract: A staggering number of anthropogenic compounds occur in aquatic ecosystems today, many of them at trace concentrations.  One group of compounds that has captured the interest of both the scientific community and general public is pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs), e.g. hormones, chemotherapy drugs, antihistamines, stimulants, antimicrobials and various cosmetics.  Toxicology of some PPCPs is currently understood, but their effect on ecological structure and function of aquatic ecosystems is unknown.  We explore possible sources and fates of these compounds in aquatic ecosystems, including the potential for non-point sources to play a larger role as sources than previously thought.  We will discuss the challenges associated with measuring PPCPS, examining their effects and assessing the overall impact of this suite of compounds on aquatic ecosystems.  Toxicological work examining effects of these compounds on individuals or populations is clearly important, but aquatic ecologists have expertise in measuring transformations, fate and transport of solutes and organic matter in aquatic ecosystems and bring a unique set of skills to understanding the dynamics of pharmaceutical compounds in aquatic systems.  Our goal is to explore how aquatic ecology might contribute to understanding the environmental risk posed to aquatic ecosystems by the ubiquitous occurrence of PPCPs.

Biographical Information: Dr. Rosi-Marshall conducts research on factors that control and influence ecosystem function in human-dominated ecosystems. Freshwater is one of the most vital and threatened resources; understanding how human-driven global change impacts freshwater ecosystem function is essential. Her research focuses on several aspects of human modifications to freshwater ecosystems such as land use change and restoration, widespread agriculture and associated crop byproducts, urbanization and the release of novel contaminants, and hydrologic modifications associated with dams. In July of 2009, Rosi-Marshall became an associate scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies at Millbrook, New York.  Prior to that, she had been both an associate professor and an assistant professor at Loyala University of Chicago where she received the Sujack Award for Excellence in Teaching, College of Arts and Sciences.

Cross-habitat Linkages: Coupling of Benthic, Pelagic, and Terrestrial Habitats in Lakes

Jake Vander Zanden, Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Madison, Wisconsin USA

Abstract:  Historically, the study of limnology has been synonymous with examination of pelagic (open-water) production and processes. The littoral zone has sometimes been viewed as separate from the pelagic, or as a refuge from predators, but rarely as a significant source of productivity at the whole-lake level. In contrast, stable carbon isotopes indicate that benthic-fixed carbon is an important, and sometimes dominant supporter of fish production in lakes, and that fishes integrate these two habitats and production pathways. Benthic production appears to be efficiently passed up the food chain to higher consumers, and generally supports more species diversity than an equivalent amount of pelagic production. In addition, benthic insect emergence from lakes can be a substantial flux of aquatic energy and nutrients to terrestrial ecosystems. His talk will highlight these aquatic-terrestrial linkages with examples from ongoing research at Lake Myvatn, Iceland. Littoral and pelagic zones each have distinct properties, and both contribute in important ways to lake ecosystems. A growing understanding of the interconnections among lake habitats is leading to a more holistic paradigm of lake ecosystem function that recognizes the importance of cross-habitat linkages.

Biographical Information:  Jake Vander Zanden is an associate professor at the Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin - Madison. He received his bachelor degree (1994) and Ph.D. (1999) from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Awards and honors include a David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship, the International Recognition of Professional Excellence Prize (IRPE, Ecology Institute, Germany), J. C. Stevenson Memorial Award (Canada), the Phillip R. Certain Dean's Distinguished Faculty Award, and the Vilas Associates Award. Vander Zanden’s research interests include food web ecology, invasive species, conservation biology, and limnology. Much of his work has emphasized the use of science to improve environmental management. He has been a participant in the Wisconsin Buffers Initiative (WBI), a group charged with planning riparian buffer policy to improve water quality. Other research includes salmonid conservation in the western U.S. and Mongolia, invasive species spread, impact and management, and the restoration of the Laurentian Great Lakes food webs. He currently teaches courses in limnology and ecology of fishes at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Ecological and evolutionary perspectives on toxins and other defenses in marine and freshwater algae

Ellen Van Donk, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, (NIOO – CL) Center for Limnology, The Netherlands; Co-author on the paper is Matthijs Vos, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Modeling, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany

Abstract:  Many organisms have developed defenses to avoid predation by species at higher trophic levels. The capability of primary producers to defend themselves against herbivores affects their own survival, modulates the strength of trophic cascades and changes the outcome of competition in aquatic communities. Algal species are notoriously flexible in their morphology, growth form, biochemical composition and production of toxic and deterrent compounds. Several of these variable traits in phytoplankton have been interpreted as defense mechanisms against grazing. Zooplankton feed with differing success on various phytoplankton species, depending primarily on size, shape, cell-wall structure and the production of toxins and deterrents. Chemical cues associated with grazing are the main factor triggering induced defenses in both marine and freshwater algae. Consumer-induced defenses in phytoplankton include changes in morphology (e.g. formation of spines, colonies, thicker cell walls), biochemistry (e.g. production of toxins, repellents) and in life history characteristics (e.g. forming of cysts, reduced recruitment rate). The ecology and evolution of constitutive and induced defenses in marine and freshwater phytoplankton will be discussed, with a special focus on the types of defenses, their costs and benefits, and their consequences at the community level.

Biographical Information:Ellen Van Donks research aims to elucidate how ecological mechanisms, evolutionary principles, and abiotic factors govern the dynamics and structure of food webs in lakes. She is most interested in the study of more complex ecological mechanisms that shape food web structure and dynamics such as inducible defenses, adaptive sweeps within evolving phytoplankton populations, fungal parasitism of phytoplankton and keystone predation by fish and birds.

As a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor she studied competition between phytoplankton species working together with Susan and Peter Kilham. Van Donk later worked as the head of the research department at the Water Board in the State of Utrecht, examining lakes and rivers and applying restoration measures to these waters. Thereafter, she was appointed as an associate professor at the Department of Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management of the University of Wageningen. During these years she spent research periods at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) and the University of Oslo. In 1998, Van Donk joined the NIOO-KNAW-CL (Netherlands Institute for Ecology - Centre for Limnology situated in Nieuwersluis) as head of the Department of Food Web Studies where she continues to examine her main research interests in plankton dynamics and ecology, phytoplankton succession, lake eutrophication and ecosystem stress, and food web studies.

Van Donk has been a member of ASLO since 1980, and she served as an associate editor for Limnology and Oceanography in addition to serving on the board of ASLO. She has been chairman of the Dutch Society of Aquatic Ecology and a member of the board of the Biological Council of the Dutch Royal Academy of Science. She was editor of the Netherlands Journal of Aquatic Ecology and associate editor of Ecosystems, Freshwater Biology, Ecological Informatics, Research Letters in Ecology and International Journal of Ecology. She is also on the editorial board of the freshwater domain of The Scientific World (Internet journal). She has been an advisor and peer-reviewer for the South Florida Water Research District since 1993 and executive vice president of the SIL (Societas Internationales Limnologiae) since June 2007.  As well, she serves on scientific research panels, reviews proposals for funding agencies in North America and Europe, and she is a reviewer for more than 20 journals.

Awaiting Further Information:

Scott Glenn
Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
New Brunswick, New Jersey USA

Jane Lubchenco (Confirmed)
Under Secretary of Commerce and Administrator
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Washington, DC USA

Marcia McNutt (Confirmed), Director, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA

Biographical Information: On October 22, 2009, Dr. Marcia K. McNutt, became the 15th Director of the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior.  Dr. McNutt is a distinguished scientist and administrator and previously served as president and chief executive officer of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), in Moss Landing, CA.

As a scientist, Dr. McNutt has participated in 15 major oceanographic expeditions and served as chief scientist on more than half of those voyages. She has published 90 peer-reviewed scientific articles. Her research has ranged from studies of ocean island volcanism in French Polynesia to continental break-up in the Western United States to uplift of the Tibet Plateau.

McNutt received a BA degree in Physics, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Colorado College in Colorado Springs.  As a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow, she studied geophysics at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, where she earned a PhD in Earth Sciences in 1978.  She then spent three years with the USGS in Menlo Park, CA, working on earthquake prediction.

Dr. McNutt joined the faculty at MIT in 1982 where she became the Griswold Professor of Geophysics and served as director of the Joint Program in Oceanography & Applied Ocean Science & Engineering, offered by MIT & the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

She served as president of the American Geophysical Union from 2000-2002. She was chair of the Board of Governors for Joint Oceanographic Institutions, helping to bring about its merger with the Consortium for Ocean Research and Education to become the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, for which she served as Trustee. She is a fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the Geological Society of America, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the International Association of Geodesy.

McNutt’s honors and awards include membership in the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She also holds honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Minnesota and from Colorado College. She was awarded by the American Geophysical Union the Macelwane Medal in 1988 for research accomplishments by a young scientist and the Maurice Ewing Medal in 2007 for her significant contributions to deep-sea exploration. She has served on numerous evaluation and advisory boards for institutions such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Stanford University, Harvard University, Science Magazine, and Schlumberger.

McNutt is a native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she graduated class valedictorian from Northrop Collegiate School in 1970.