McGill University
Ph.D. candidate
Supervisor: Irene Gregory-Eaves
Start: 2009-06-01
End: 2013-05-15
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Project

Historical and contemporary drivers of cyanobacterial occurrence and dominance: regional and global perspectives
The focus of PhD thesis is on the occurrence and dominance of noxious cyanobacterial blooms, a key symptom of freshwater eutrophication. The relationship between nutrients and cyanobacterial dominance across lakes is alarming given that global land area under agricultural management is expanding. Furthermore, due to their higher temperature optima and buoyancy regulating capabilities, cyanobacterial dominance has also been linked to global climate warming. In light of the predicted rise in global temperature and eutrophication, the interaction of these drivers is now cause for concern. The goal of my project is to evaluate this synergy using long-term time series, both in the form of neo- and paleolimnological data. Furthermore, as ecosystems differ in nutrient loading, temperature and algal growth relationships, I will look at patterns both at regional and global scales.

Publications

1- Quantifying Relationships Among Phosphorus, Agriculture, and Lake Depth at an Inter-Regional Scale
Taranu, Zofia E., Irene Gregory-Eaves
2008 Ecosystems

2- Contrasting responses of dimictic and polymictic lakes to environmental change: a spatial and temporal study
Taranu, Zofia Ecaterina, Dörte Köster, Roland I. Hall, Theo Charette, Francine Forrest, Les C. Cwynar, Irene Gregory-Eaves
2009 Aquatic Sciences

3- Land-Use Legacies Are Important Determinants of Lake Eutrophication in the Anthropocene
Finkel, Zoe, Bronwyn E. Keatley, Elena M. Bennett, Graham K. MacDonald, Zofia E. Taranu, Irene Gregory-Eaves
2011 PLoS ONE

4- The influence of time, soil characteristics, and land-use history on soil phosphorus legacies: a global meta-analysis
MacDonald, Graham K., Elena M. Bennett, Zofia E. Taranu
2012 Global Change Biology

5- Predicting cyanobacterial dynamics in the face of global change: the importance of scale and environmental context
Taranu, Zofia E., Ron W. Zurawell, Frances Pick, Irene Gregory-Eaves
2012 Global Change Biology