Assistant ProfessorLock Haven University
301 W Church Street
East Campus Science Center
Lock Haven, Pennsylvania 17745-1213
Email: des1053@lockhaven.edu
Phone: 570-484-2596
Visit Daniel's Research Website
Research Disciplines: Research Interests:
Global Change Biology, Ecosystem Ecology, Biodiversity Ecosystem Function, Restoration Ecology, Invertebrate Ecology, Freshwater Mussels, Nutritional Ecology, Eutrophication Ecology
View Daniel's CVBiographical Sketch
2018- Present Assistant Professor. Lock Haven University, Lock Haven, PA.
2010- 2018 Research Associate, United States Geological Survey.
2011- Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Biology Mansfield University, Mansfield, PA
2007- 2010 Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada
Education
- 2007 Ph.D. Zoology; University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma
Dissertation: An integrative approach to understanding mussel community structure: linking biodiversity, environmental context and physiology.
- 2002 M.S. Zoology; University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma
- 1998 Honors BSc. Environmental Science; Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Ongoing and Recent CESU Projects
Uptake and bioaccumulation/biomagnification of subsurface-derived PFASs by lotic, warm-water food webs.
Department of Defense (DOD): Strategic Environmental Research Development Program (SERDP) 2019-2021
We are collaborating with the Drexel University, Temple University, The Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science, and the US Geological Survey on a project aimed at understanding how Polyfluorylalkyl Substances (PFAS) move through the foodweb of freshwater river ecosystems.
Other Research
Nutritional Ecology:
I am collaborating with Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the US Geological Survey on a project evaluating thiamine vitamin B deficiency in smallmouth bass (Micropterus Dolomieu) populations within the Susquehanna River basin.
I am collaborating with Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the US Geological Survey on a project using fatty acid profiles of benthic biofilms to assess the ecological health of freshwater streams differentially impacted by anthropogenic land-use activities (urban and agriculture).
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function:
Over the past decade, I have studied the functional role of freshwater mussels and associated biota (biofilms, macroinvertebrates, and fish) in stream ecosystems. The goal of this research has been to convey the ecological benefits that can arise from restoration efforts or identify potential consequences in the absence of management intervention. I have recently recognized that most streams cannot be easily classified as healthy or degraded. As such, I have been conducting manipulative experiments to simulate watershed stressors and assess the environmental conditions for which restoring freshwater mussels will translate to ecosystem benefits. The aim of this work is to use science to facilitate the decision-making processes. Given that management resources are often limiting, it would be beneficial to have a set of tools that can: (a) facilitate the identification of a site/ecosystem of high conservation or restoration potential; (b) determine an environmental threshold, below which, a community or ecosystem would be significantly degraded beyond restoration; and (c) identify a tangible benchmark for which conservation or restoration efforts were deemed to be successful. I would like to expand this work to involve other consumers of interest including crayfish, fish and amphibians.