Alaska EPSCoR Fire and Ice Project

Funding provided by the National Science Foundation's Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) provides opportunities for collaborative research across the University of Alaska system and beyond. The "Fire and Ice: Navigating Variability in Boreal Wildfire Regimes and Subarctic Coastal Ecosystems" is a 5-year program to support Alaska EPSCoR researchers to do research into fire risk and behavior in the boreal forests of Alaska and how changes in glacier cover in coastal Alaska will influence biological communities. I am evaluating food web connections in Lynn Canal (near Juneau, AK) as part of the Coastal Margins team. See below for more information on  research groups collaborating on this project.

Project conceptual diagram

Coastal Margins team
The Coastal Margins team is focused on characterizing nearshore Gulf of Alaska habitats influenced by glacerized (glaciers present, with up to 60% coverage) to non-glacerized (no glaciers) watersheds by addressing 3 primary research goals, including: 1) characterization dynamics of rivers along a glacial to non-glacial watershed gradient & their linkages to coastal oceanography; 2) quantifying biological responses of nearshore marine organisms to different physical and chemical conditions; and 3) understanding the potential responses of coastal resource users to anticipated future shifts in nearshore marine resources.
DEW team
The Diversity, Education and Workforce Development (DEW) team focuses on two overarching goals: 1) to build key competencies among stakeholders to address ecological change, and 2) broaden participation in STEM by building a diverse pool of STEM learners and workers in Alaska.

Boreal Fires team

The Boreal Fires team is taking an approach that integrates multiple methods to address 3 primary research goals, which include: 1) Produce seasonal fire outlooks by merging data on lightening probability and available fuels with seasonal climate forecasts; 2) enhance active fire characterization, spread prediction, and severity assessment in boreal environments through improved remote sensing, short-term weather data, and field measurements; and 3) develop science-based options for improving wildfire management policy to maintain ecosystem service flows and foster community resilience.

Coastal Margins research

Researchers on the Coastal Margins team are addressing the three primary research goals by focusing on 10 Gulf of Alaska watersheds, five watersheds in Lynn Canal (where my field work is focused) and five watersheds in Kachemak Bay, that reflect the glacier to non-glacier influence on coastal waterways. Work in my lab is focused on addressing aspects of Goal 2 (evaluating food webs using fatty acids) and Goal 3 (understanding marine invertebrate responses to current and anticipated future changes in the nearshore marine environment).