Collaborating Across Disciplines and Methods to Understand Non-perennial Streams

Abstract

Despite their ubiquity, understanding how flow intermittency impacts stream ecosystem processes and downstream water quality remains elusive. Addressing this challenge requires integrating the scientific disciplines of hydrology, biogeochemistry and microbial methods to untangle the interactions and effect on water quality. Given the inherent interdisciplinary nature of this work, understanding stream intermittency also requires committed collaborations. Our WARR seminar will feature two such collaborations that have advanced our understanding of non-perennial streams.

The first talk will share research findings from the Dry Rivers Research Coordination Network, a NSF-funded international working group of >50 scientists interested in advancing our understanding of the hydrology and ecology of non-perennial rivers and streams. The talk will introduce the scientific motivation behind the Dry Rivers group, the breadth and depth of findings from their over 26 published synthesis studies (85% of which had early career researchers as first authors), and what the current challenges and knowledge gaps are in this area of scientific research. The talk will provide commentary on the evolution of the working group, the leadership and collaborative style of the group, as well as specific challenges and successes with large synthesis working groups.

The second talk will feature the Aquatic Intermittency effects on Microbiomes in Streams (AIMS) project. AIMS integrates hydrology, microbiomes, and biogeochemistry in three US regions (Southeastern Forests, Great Plains, Mountain West) to test the overarching hypothesis that physical drivers (e.g., climate, hydrology) interact with biological drivers (e.g., microbes, biogeochemistry) to control water quality in intermittent streams. AIMS’ solution to build scientific capacity and workforce development is to: 1) create a network of instrumented sites to quantify and predict how intermittency controls downstream water quality, 2) educate and train scientists from diverse backgrounds in collaborative science and interdisciplinary methods to study intermittent streams, and 3) provide workforce training in environmental “big data” tools. Building the AIMS team (>50 scientists, including undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, technicians, professors, research scientists, and librarians) required focused communication, consensus building, policy development, and creation of shared protocols all of which support our vision and project goals. This talk will share lessons learnt from building the project team, writing the proposal for funding, training student cohorts, and solving problems that are inherent to large collaborative efforts.

Bios

Dr. Margaret Zimmer is an associate professor in the Department of Soil and Environmental Science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Prior to UW Madison, she was faculty at the University of California Santa Cruz (2018-2023) and a Supervisory Hydrologist at the US Geological Survey Upper Midwest Water Science Center (2023-2024). She completed her B.A. from Oberlin College, M.S. from Syracuse University, and Ph.D. from Duke University. Dr. Zimmer’s research program explores drivers of streamflow generation, surface water-groundwater interactions, and hillslope hydrology as well as the ecological and biogeochemical implications of water movement. She is the recipient of a NSF CAREER grant, the 2023 Hydrogeology Section Early Career Award from the Geological Society of America, and the 2024 Hydrology Section Early Career Award from the American Geophysical Union. She co-led the NSF-funded Dry Rivers Research Coordination Network with Dr. Daniel Allen.

Dr. Amy Burgin is a professor and chair of the Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology Department at Iowa State University. Prior to ISU, she was a professor at the University of Kansas (2016-2024), University of Nebraska (2011-2016), and Wright State University (2009-2011). She completed her Ph.D. from Michigan State University and postdoctoral training at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. Dr. Burgin’s research program asks and answers fundamental and timely questions centered on understanding how human activities influence the water quality of streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands using an interdisciplinary lens integrating limnology, biogeochemistry, and microbial ecology.  Her collaborations all emphasize high-quality undergraduate to postdoctoral training, building effective mentoring practices, and creating inclusive scientific teams. She has co-authored over 60 publications and secured >$10M in direct federal research support while training more than 50 undergraduates, 10 graduate students, and 6 post-doctoral scientists. She leads the Aquatic Intermittency effects on Microbiomes in Streams (AIMS) project, an NSF-funded $6.6M investment to enhance our understanding of the connections amongst stream flow variation, water quality, and microbial communities.