Tipping Points in Freshwater Lakes & Ponds
What makes some communities and ecosystems prone to large, abrupt changes?
- Abrupt changes in communities and ecosystems are found in coral reefs, the open ocean, rocky intertidal, grasslands, tundra, forests, and many other ecological systems.
- In freshwater lakes and ponds, nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus can drive shifts between the dominant primary producers (plants or algae).
- Many freshwater ponds can be found in one of two states – dominated by unrooted, floating plants (e.g., duckweed) or submerged vegetation.
- These ponds are an ideal system for studying how species-, community-, and ecosystem-level properties can modify the relationship between an environmental driver and the ecological regime.
Are floating plant or submerged plant dominance alternative states that can exist under the same set of conditions?
Does the species composition of floating plants influence if a water body will be dominated by these plants?
I use multiple lines of evidence to answer these questions including: large data sets, field surveys, lab experiments, and simulation modelling.
Products:
Publications
McCann, M.J. Evidence of alternative states in freshwater lakes: A spatially-explicit model of submerged and floating plants. Ecological Modelling 337: 298-308. [LINK]
McCann, M.J. 2016. Response diversity of free-floating plants to nutrient stoichiometry and temperature: Growth and resting body formation. Peer J 4:e1781. [LINK]
McCann, M.J. 2015. Local and regional determinants of an uncommon functional group in freshwater lakes and ponds. PLoS ONE 10: e0131980. [LINK]
Presentations
McCann, M.J. Effects of community and ecosystem properties on an alternative state: A simulation model. Ecological Society of American Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, August 2015.
McCann, M.J. Local and regional determinants of an uncommon functional group. Dept. of Ecology & Evolution Annual Retreat. Stony Brook, NY, March 2015.
McCann, M.J. Ecosystem size and species occurrence limit an alternative state in freshwater lakes and ponds. Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Portland, Oregon, May 2014.
McCann, M.J. Multiple levels of ecological organization determine susceptibility to critical transitions. Ecological Society of American Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, Minnesota, August 2013.
McCann, M.J. Using aquatic plants to understand community regime shifts. Ecological Society of American Annual Meeting, Portland, Oregon, August 2012.
McCann, M.J. Using aquatic plants to understand community regime shifts. Stony Brook University Department of Ecology & Evolution Annual Retreat. Stony Brook, NY, March 2012.
Publications
McCann, M.J. Evidence of alternative states in freshwater lakes: A spatially-explicit model of submerged and floating plants. Ecological Modelling 337: 298-308. [LINK]
McCann, M.J. 2016. Response diversity of free-floating plants to nutrient stoichiometry and temperature: Growth and resting body formation. Peer J 4:e1781. [LINK]
McCann, M.J. 2015. Local and regional determinants of an uncommon functional group in freshwater lakes and ponds. PLoS ONE 10: e0131980. [LINK]
Presentations
McCann, M.J. Effects of community and ecosystem properties on an alternative state: A simulation model. Ecological Society of American Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, August 2015.
McCann, M.J. Local and regional determinants of an uncommon functional group. Dept. of Ecology & Evolution Annual Retreat. Stony Brook, NY, March 2015.
McCann, M.J. Ecosystem size and species occurrence limit an alternative state in freshwater lakes and ponds. Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Portland, Oregon, May 2014.
McCann, M.J. Multiple levels of ecological organization determine susceptibility to critical transitions. Ecological Society of American Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, Minnesota, August 2013.
McCann, M.J. Using aquatic plants to understand community regime shifts. Ecological Society of American Annual Meeting, Portland, Oregon, August 2012.
McCann, M.J. Using aquatic plants to understand community regime shifts. Stony Brook University Department of Ecology & Evolution Annual Retreat. Stony Brook, NY, March 2012.