My Teaching
Fall Semester:
Spring Semester:
Research
My present research follows three paths:
1. Coupling existing forest-atmosphere hydrology and carbon flux research with new stream biogeochemistry research
Aquatic ecologists have recently argued that carbon and nitrogen cycles need to be studied more closely across transitional zones from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems. At the same time, an understanding is emerging from terrestrial studies that the net metabolism of many ecosystems is often very close to being balanced on annual and decadal time scales, therefore the fluvial loss of materials to streams may be an important, yet overlooked term in estimates of organic matter and nutrient stocks. In addition, there is a growing understanding that nitrogen loss in nitrogen-limited forests can be dominated by dissolved organic nitrogen. The overarching objective of the research is to explore linkages between forest and stream ecosystem fluxes of energy and nutrients at times scales spanning minutes to decades. Over the past couple of years we have installed stream gages and developed novel aquatic probe systems to investigate the coupling of terrestrial and aquatic biogeochemical cycles at short time scales. My research is centered on hypotheses that have emerged from this new data acquisition and represents the start of a long-term plan to study the interactions of coupled forest and stream biogeochemical cycles at the Harvard Forest LTER.
About Harvard Forest: Since 1907 research and education have been the mission of the Harvard Forest (http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/), one of the oldest and most intensively studied forests in North America. From a center comprised of 3000 acres of land, research facilities, and the Fisher Museum the scientists, students, and collaborators at the Forest explore topics ranging from conservation and environmental change to land-use history and the ways in which physical, biological and human systems interact to change our earth.
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2. Understanding how organic matter in melting permafrost impacts coupled aquatic ecosystems and is transferred to the atmosphere and Arctic Ocean
The Polaris Project includes a field course and research experience for undergraduate students in the Siberian Arctic, several new arctic-focused undergraduate courses taught by project scientists at their home institutions, the opportunity for those scientists to initiate research programs in the Siberian Arctic, and a wide range of student science projects and outreach activities. The guiding scientific theme is the transport and transformations of carbon and nutrients as they move with water from terrestrial uplands to the Arctic Ocean, a central issue as scientists struggle to understand the changing Arctic. There is increasing evidence that inland freshwater ecosystems play a significant role in the global carbon cycle due to the metabolism of terrestrial-derived organic matter as it moves in fluvial networks from land to sea. Recent research suggests that Arctic watersheds may increasingly augment the global role of freshwater ecosystems in the flux of terrestrial carbon to the atmosphere and ocean as a result of global warming.
About the Polaris Project: The Polaris Project (www.thepolarisproject.org) includes a field course and research experience for undergraduate students in the Siberian Arctic, several new arctic-focused undergraduate courses taught by project scientists at their home institutions, the opportunity for those scientists to initiate research programs in the Siberian Arctic, and a wide range of student science projects and outreach activities. The guiding scientific theme is the transport and transformations of carbon and nutrients as they move with water from terrestrial uplands to the Arctic Ocean, a central issue as scientists struggle to understand the changing Arctic.
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3. Urban river ecology and biogeochemistry: Worcester’s Blackstone River and the urban stream syndrome
Urban aquatic and terrestrial ecology are rapidly growing fields in the disciplines of freshwater ecology and general ecology. Researchers have now established a robust conceptual model for studying urban rivers: the “urban stream syndrome”. Worcester’s Blackstone River provides a training ground for students interested in the chemistry, ecology, hydrology, and geomorphology of urban rivers and their impact on diverse downstream ecosystems. Student research can be connected with the efforts of non-profit groups eager to promote restoration programs that help improve the river’s health (see Blackstone River Coalition website).
About the Blackstone River Coalition: The Blackstone River Coalition (BRC, www.zaptheblackstone.org) is a group of organizations representing thousands of individuals whose interest is the regeneration of the Blackstone River. One of the Coalition's goals is to reinvigorate the "grassroots" and "can do!" spirit of the original "ZAP the Blackstone" project. That event, which took place on September 9, 1972 along the Blackstone River, consisted of 10,000 volunteers who took it upon themselves to remove more than 10,000 tons of debris from the banks and water of the Blackstone River. It is with the same spirit and vigor that the BRC continues the work necessary to "Make the River Clean by 2015”. |
Publications (most available as pdf)
Willacker, J. J., W. V. Sobczak, and E. A. Colburn. 2009. Stream macroinvertebrate communities in coupled hemlock and deciduous watersheds. Northeastern Naturalist 16: 101-112.
Rowell, T. J. and W. V. Sobczak. 2008. Will stream periphyton respond to increases in light following forecasted regional hemlock mortality? Journal of Freshwater Ecology 23: 33-40. Collins, B. M., W. V. Sobczak, and E. A. Colburn. 2007. Subsurface flowpaths in a forested headwater stream harbor a diverse macroinvertebrate community. Wetlands 27: 319-325.
Rainey, J. D., W. V. Sobczak, and S. C. Fradkin. 2007. Zooplankton diel vertical distributions in Lake Crescent, a deep oligotrophic lake in Washington (USA). Journal of Freshwater Ecology 22: 469-476.
Sobczak, W. V. 2005. Lindeman’s trophic-dynamic aspect of ecology: Will you still need me when I’m 64? Bulletin of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography 14: 53-57.
Ellison, A. M., M. S. Bank, B. D. Clinton, E. A. Colburn, K.Elliott, Chelcy R. Ford, D. R. Foster, B. D. Kloeppel, J. D. Knoepp, G. M.Lovett, J. Mohan, D. A. Orwig, N. L. Rodenhouse, W. V. Sobczak, K. A. Stinson,P. Snow, J. K. Stone, C. M. Swan, J. Thompson, B. Von Holle, and . R.Webster .2005. Loss of foundation species:consequences for the structure and dynamics of forested ecosystems. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 3: 479-486.
Findlay, S.E. G., R. L. Sinsabaugh, W. V. Sobczak, and M. Hoostal. 2003. Metabolic and structural response of hyporheic microbial communities to variations in supply of dissolved organic matter. Limnol. Oceanogr., 48:1608–1617
Sobczak, W. V., S. Findlay, and S. Dye. 2003. Relationships between DOC bioavailability and nitrate removal in an upland stream: An experimental approach. Biogeochemistry 62: 309-327
Sobczak, W. V., J. E. Cloern, A. D. Jassby, and A. Mueller-Solger. 2002.
Bioavailability of organic matter in a highly disturbed estuary: The role of detrital and algal resources. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 99: 8101-8105.
Sobczak, W. V. and S. Findlay. 2002. Variation in bioavailability of dissolved organic carbon among stream hyporheic flowpaths Ecology: 83: 3194-3209.
Lovett, G. L., K. W. Weathers, and W. V. Sobczak. 2000. Nitrogen saturation and retention in forested watersheds of the Catskill Mountains, New York. Ecological Applications 10:73-84.
Findlay, S. and W. V. Sobczak. 2000. Microbial communities in hyporheic sediments. IN: Streams and Ground Waters. Jones, J. & P. Mulholland (Eds.). Academic Press, New York.
Sobczak, W. V., L. O. Hedin, and M. J. Klug. 1998. Relationships between bacterial productivity and organic carbon at a soil-stream interface. Hydrobiologia 386: 45-53.
Findlay, S., R. O. Hall, and W. V. Sobczak. 1998. Book Review: Methods in Stream Ecology (R. Hauer & G. Lamberti eds.). Limnology and Oceanography 43: 1021-1022.
Sobczak, W. V. 1996. Epilithic bacterial responses to variations in algal biomass and labile DOC during biofilm colonization. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 15:143-154.
Findlay, S. and W. V. Sobczak. 1996. Variability in removal of dissolved organic
carbon in hyporheic sediments. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 15:35-41.
Sobczak, W. V. and T. M. Burton. 1996. Epilithic bacterial and algal colonization among a stream run, riffle, and pool: a test of co-variation. Hydrobiologia 332:159-166.
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