4/10/17: Robert Sterner

Please join us for a Great Lakes Seminar Series presentation:
Time: 1:00-2:00 pm EDT
Location: NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, Lake Superior Hall
Presenter: Dr. Robert Sterner, University of Minnesota-Duluth Large Lakes Observatory
Title: Lake Superior: A warming ecosystem

Event Flyer

Webinar Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6OYkMvgxtk&t=42s 

Abstract: Dramatic physical changes to the seasonal mixing regime of Lake Superior have been described: the summer stratified season is lengthening and summer surface temperatures are increasing. At the same time, there are less prevalent anthropogentic forcings affecting Lake Superior than most other large lakes, including most of the Laurentian Great Lakes. This means Lake Superior may provide important clues about how climate affects large lake ecosystems. Dr. Sterner’s seminar will draw from almost twenty years of study of the offshore Lake Superior ecosystem, with an emphasis on nutrients and the lower food web. Changes to primary production and primary producers have been observed, though the complex interconnections of “physics to fish” are still poorly resolved.

Bio: Dr. Sterner’s research combines biological with chemical approaches to understand lake ecosystems, with particular focus on understanding the linkages among the cycles of carbon and nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Dr. Sterner received a B.S. in Biology from the University of Illinois in 1980 and a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Minnesota in 1986, working with David Tilman. Dr. Sterner has published more than 90 papers and books that together have been cited > 12,000 times. He is one of the founders of the field of Ecological Stochiometry, which seeks to understand how elemental balances and ratios affect organism success, community structure, ecosystem dynamics, and other topics. He has focused mainly on freshwater plankton, but through work with colleagues and students, he has contributed to the literature on microbes, fish, terrestrial plants, and other organisms. Dr. Sterner has spent most of his career at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, serving as the Head of the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior. He also spent 2+ years working at the National Science Foundation in senior management as the Director of the Division of Environmental Biology, where he contributed to the shaping of the NSF funding portfolio and acted as a national spokesperson for environmental research in the U.S. He has done research on the Great Lakes since ~1996 and in 2014, he moved to the University of Minnesota-Duluth where he became the Director of the Large Lakes Observatory, the only institution in the U.S. dedicated to the scientific study of all the large lakes on Earth.

Important Visitor Information
All in-person seminar attendees are required to receive a visitor badge from the front desk at the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory facility. Seminar attendees need to present a valid U.S. photo ID or green card. If you are a Foreign National, advance notification of at least 48 hours is needed so that security guidelines are followed. You will need to present your passport (a copy will NOT work). For questions regarding building access, or assistance in obtaining Foreign National clearance, please call 734-741-2393. Email contact: [email protected]
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Questions? Contact Mary Ogdahl: [email protected]