Research
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Status: Ongoing
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Researchers: Geoffrey C. Poole, Krista L. Jones, Chris Bennett, and Ashley M. Helton.
In the face of the increasing size and intensity of agriculture and
urbanization in many landscapes, protecting streams and rivers from the
negative effects of pollution is an important management goal.
Although waterways are degraded by many different types of pollution,
this research project focuses on the effects of excess nitrogen (such
as that found in water draining from fertilized agricultural fields)
and sediment (which often enters streams when the earth is tilled or
disturbed) on the ecology of rivers and streams. Excess sediment
is known to degrade the physical habitat of rivers, while excess
nitrogen can cause problems such as promoting blooms of nuisance algae
and, ultimately, can create large, oxygen-starved “dead zones” where
nitrogen-laden river water mixes into the sea. |
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Status: Ongoing
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Researchers: Ashley Helton, Geoffrey Poole, Judy Meyer, Chris Bennett,
Clay Arango, Linda Ashkenas, Cliff Dahm, Walter Dodds, Stan Gregory,
Nancy Grimm, Robert Hall, Steve Hamilton, Sherri Johnson, William
McDowell, Patrick Mulholland, Bruce Peterson, Jennifer Tank, Maury
Valett, and Jack Webster.
Patterns of nitrogen delivery to and uptake within stream networks are
important determinants of the fate and transport of nitrogen in the
landscape. Eco-metrics, Inc. is collaborating with universities
across the United States as part of the "LINX-II" experiment; a five-year study to investigate
nitrate dynamics that determine the fate of nitrate delivered to
streams. Nitrate dynamics in headwater streams located in eight
different biomes (located in Coastal Massachusetts, Western North
Carolina, Southern Michigan, Central Kansas, Western Wyoming, Western
Oregon, Arizona, and Puerto Rico) and across different land uses are
being measured by adding minute quantities of 15N (a stable isotope of nitrogen) to streams and tracking the fate of the isotopes within the stream ecosystem.
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Status: Complete
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Researchers: Judy L. Meyer, Krista L. Jones, Geoffrey C. Poole, C.
Rhett Jackson, James E. Kundell, B. Lane Rivenbark, Elizabeth L.
Kramer, and William Bumback
This four-year research project by scientists at the University of
Georgia and Eco-metrics evaluated the impacts of Georgia House Bill
1426 on the State's trout streams. The study's objectives were to provide
the State with scientific information on: 1) the effectiveness of
100- vs. 50-ft riparian buffer widths in protecting trout habitat in
North Georgia's streams; and 2) the
geomorphic and biological characteristics of headwater trout streams that are exempt from 50-ft riparian buffer requirements.
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Status: Complete
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Researchers: Geoffrey C. Poole, Chris Bennett, Krista
L. Jones, Jack A. Stanford, Emily S. Bernhardt, William W. Woessner, John S. Kimball,
Diane C. Whited, F. Richard Hauer, and Mark S. Lorang.
Computer simulation modeling is a primary research tool in Systems
Ecology. RIFLS-2 (River and Interstitial Flow Simulator, version
2) is a model of floodplain hydrology, hydrogeology, and biocomplexity
that is currently under development at Eco-metrics, Inc. The
model is based on RIFLS, which resulted from Geoffrey Poole's
Ph.D. Dissertation and is described in three refereed scientific
papers. RIFLS was used to demonstrate the importance of
floodplain geomorphology and flow regulation on the magnitude, spatial
pattern, and timing of ground-water movement through floodplain
gravels, aquifer recharge by the river, and aquifer discharge to the
river. Model ouput can be converted to an animation to
visualize the dynamics of ground- and surface-water flow pathways. |
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Research 
