Research Interests:
Biogeochemistry of aquatic ecosystems, nitrogen cycling and transport in streams, impact of land use on ecosystem function, denitrification in agricultural streams, role of large woody debris in streams draining managed forests, stable isotopes as food web tracers, microbial ecology of decomposers.
Specific Research Projects:
Below, I describe 3 research projects that demonstrate the type of work ongoing in my lab. Results from this research demonstrate our commitment to outreach and communication with the broader community of policy makers, NGOs, and agencies in order to improve the management of our freshwater ecosystems.
1. Nitrogen uptake and retention in streams: mechanisms and effects of human disturbance from stream reaches to landscapes (The LINX2 Project, 2002-07).
For the past 4 yrs, our lab has been part of a multi-site, collaborative project looking at the effects of land use on the uptake and retention of N in urban, agriculture and forested watersheds. The goal has been to gain a better understanding of the role that small streams play in removing nitrogen from water and preventing it from polluting downstream ecosystems. The project has used 72 streams located in eight different regions of the United States. My work with this project has been centered in 2 of the 8 represented biomes and my lab has been responsible for 18 of the 72 experimental streams; 9 in Southwestern Michigan, and 9 located in the Jackson Hole basin in Wyoming. Because nitrate is the major form of N pollution in human impacted systems, we used the naturally occurring heavy isotope of nitrogen (15N) to trace nitrate experimentally added to stream water. Results from the isotopic tracer experiments are being used to develop a general model of nitrogen retention in streams that includes uptake by organisms and permanent removal by the production of nitrogen gas through denitrification. The ultimate goal of the research has to provide land managers and planners with a better understanding of the importance of streams in controlling nitrogen loading to lakes and coastal ecosystems, and to show how humans can preserve or enhance ecosystem services provided by streams.
2. Role of large woody debris in restoring stream ecosystem function in managed U.S. forests (LWD Project, 2002-06)
Aquatic habitats, particularly rivers and streams, are strongly influenced by adjacent riparian vegetation, of which large woody debris (LWD) is an important component. In the upper Midwestern U.S. as well as many other parts of the country, the legacy of forest harvest has left streams and rivers nearly devoid of natural quantities of LWD. Previous research has shown that in-stream LWD increases the quality of the physical habitat and thus enhances populations of fishes and invertebrates. However, while it is generally recognized that LWD plays an important role in structuring stream habitat, the mechanisms by which this occurs are not well understood. Some forests are now being managed by the USDA Forest Service for restoration of LWD in streams and our research addresses some major ga
ps in our knowledge about the efficacy of this restoration technique. After collecting 1 yr of pre-treatment data, in May 2004 we experimentally added LWD to three streams in the Ottawa National Forest in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (25 logs per 100m, mimicking historical wood loading). We have now quantified ecosystem responses to this large-scale manipulation for three years. Since adding wood in May 2004, we have seen rapid changes in geomorphology and changes in ecosystem structure and function (e.g. increased whole-stream metabolism and nutrient uptake after LWD addition). We are currently determining whether these changes in ecosystem function have translated to changes in the macroinvertebrate and fish communities. The US forest service is actively managing streams in the Ottawa to enhance fisheries and our research takes a novel and innovative approach to achieve that goal. We are confident our data will help shift management priorities towards restoring ecosystem function rather than single species enhancement.
3. Cycling of novel allochthonous carbon in Midwestern agricultural streams (DITCH Project, 2005-08).
In the agriculturally-dominated landscape of the Midwestern US, headwater streams draining agricultural fields represent the principal lotic system. Despite their predominance in the landscape, agricultural streams are understudied relative to more pristine systems. Agricultural practices that remove natural riparian vegetation shift headwater streams from heterotrophy to autotrophy via a reduction in riparian organic matter inputs (i.e. allochthonous) and increased instream (i.e. autochthonous) production. However, crop byproducts remaining on fields (e.g. non-harvested foliage) may represent a dominant carbon source in agriculturally-influenced headwater streams rather than autochthonous production. The role of this novel carbon source to stream ecosystem function has not been determined. Additionally, ~20% of the corn planted in the Midwest is Bt corn. Because the Bt d-endotoxin is produced throughout the plant, dispersing pollen and non-harvested foliage that enters agricultural streams may be consumed by various aquatic organisms, and thus pose a threat to the environment. The potential effect of genetically modified (GM) crops on non-target species in aquatic ecosystems has re
ceived little attention, and consideration of headwater streams as a mechanism for the unintended dispersal of Bt d-endotoxin through the environment has been overlooked. We are determining if Bt d-endotoxin is present in the food web and affecting aquatic biota. Our overall goal is to determine how agriculture and its associated by-products are altering food webs, energy flow, and ecosystem function in headwater streams and our research will be critical in examining the ecosystem effects of agricultural byproducts and the recent practice of widespread planting of genetically modified crops, such as Bt corn, across the Midwest.
Publications (in chronological order)
Tank, J.L., and J.C. Musson. 1993. An inexpensive chamber apparatus for multiple measurements of dissolved oxygen uptake or release. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 12:406-409.
Tank, J.L., J.R. Webster, and E.F. Benfield. 1993. Microbial respiration on decaying leaves and sticks in a southern Appalachian stream. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 12:394-405.
Webster, J.R., A.P Covich, J.L.Tank, and T. V. Crockett. 1994. Retention of coarse particles in streams in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 13:140-150.
Tank, J.L., and M.J. Winterbourn. 1995. Biofilm development and invertebrate colonization of wood in four New Zealand streams of contrasting pH. Freshwater Biology 34:303-315.
Tank, J.L., and M.J. Winterbourn. 1996. Microbial activity and invertebrate colonisation of wood in a New Zealand forest stream. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 30:271-280.
Tank, J.L., J.R. Webster, E.F. Benfield, and R.L. Sinsabaugh. 1998. Effect of leaf litter exclusion on microbial enzyme activity associated with wood biofilms in streams. Journal of the North American Benthological Society: 17:95-103.
Tank, J.L., and J.R. Webster. 1998. Interaction of substrate and nutrient availability on wood biofilm processes in streams. Ecology: 79:151-162.
Webster, J.R., E.F. Benfield, T.P. Ehrman, M.A. Schaeffer, J.L.Tank, J.J. Hutchens, and D.J. D’Angelo. 1999. What happens to allochthonous material that falls into streams? A synthesis of new and published information from Coweeta. Freshwater Biology 41:687-705.
Dodds, W.K., M.A. Evans-White, N.M. Gerlanc, L.Gray, D.A.Gudder, M.J. Kemp, A.L. López, P.J. Mulholland, D.S.Staligliano, E.A. Strauss, J.L.Tank, M.R. Whiles, and W.M. Wollheim. 2000. Quantification of the Nitrogen Cycle in a Prairie Stream. Ecosystems 3:574-589.
Mulholland, P.J., J.L.Tank, D.M. Sanzone, W.M. Wolheim, B.J. Peterson, J.R. Webster, and J.L. Meyer. 2000. Food resources of stream macroinvertebrates determined by natural-abundance stable C and N isotopes and a 15N tracer addition. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 19:145-157.
Mulholland, P.J., J.L.Tank, D.M. Sanzone, W.M. Wolheim, B.J. Peterson, J.R. Webster, and J.L. Meyer. 2000. Nitrogen cycling in a forest stream determined by a 15N tracer addition. Ecological Monographs. 70: 471-493.
Tank, J.L., J.L. Meyer, D. Sanzone, P.J. Mulholland, J.R Webster, B.J Peterson, and Norman E. Leonard. 2000. Analysis of nitrogen cycling in a forest stream during autumn using a 15N tracer addition. Limnology & Oceanography 45: 1013-1029.
Benfield, E.F., J.R. Webster, J.R. Hutchens, J.L.Tank, and P.A. Turner. 2001. Organic matter dynamics along a stream-order and elevational gradient in a southern Appalachian stream. Verh. Internat. Verein. Limnol. 27:1341-1345.
Webster, J.R., J.L. Tank, J.B. Wallace, J.L. Meyer, S.L. Eggert, T.P. Ehrman, B.R. Ward, B.L. Bennett, P.F. Wagner, and M.E. McTammany. 2001. Effects of litter exclusion and wood removal on phosphorus and nitrogen retention in a forest stream. Verh. Internat. Verein. Limnol. 27:1337-1340.
Mulholland, P.J., J.L.Tank, D.M. Sanzone, J.R. Webster, W.M. Wollheim, B.J. Peterson, and J. L. Meyer. 2001. Ammonium and nitrate uptake lengths in a small forested stream determined by 15N tracer and short-term nutrient enrichment experiments. Verh. Internat. Verein. Limnol. 27:1320-1325.
Tank, J.L., P.J Mulholland, J.L. Meyer, W.B. Bowden, J.R Webster, B.J Peterson, and D. Sanzone. 2001. Contrasting food web linkages for the grazing pathways in 3 temperate using 15N as a tracer. Verh. Internat. Verein. Limnol. 27:2832-2835.
Hamilton, S.K., J.L. Tank, D.F. Raikow, W.M. Wollheim, B.J. Peterson, and J.R. Webster. 2001. Nitrogen uptake and transformation in a Midwestern US stream: A stable isotope enrichment study. Biogeochemistry. 54(3): 297-340.
Benfield, E. F., J. R. Webster, J. L. Tank, and J. J. Hutchens. 2001. Long-term patterns of leaf breakdown in streams in response to watershed logging. International Review of Hydrobiology 86:467-474.
Webster, J.R., E.F. Benfield, J.J. Hutchens, J.L. Tank, S.W. Golladay, and J.C. Adams. 2001. Do leaf breakdown rates actually measure leaf disappearance from streams? International Review of Hydrobiology 86:417-427.
Mulholland, P.J., C.S. Fellows, J.L. Tank, N.B. Grimm, J.R. Webster, S.K. Hamilton, E. Marti, L. Ashkenas, W.B. Bowden, W.K. Dodds, W.H. McDowell, J. L. Meyer, and B.J. Peterson. 2001. Inter-biome comparison of factors controlling stream metabolism. Freshwater Biology 46: 1503-1517.
Sanzone, D. M., J.L. Tank, J. L. Meyer, P. J. Mulholland, and S.E.G. Findlay. 2001. Microbial incorporation of nitrogen in stream detritus. Hydrobiologia 464:27-35.
Peterson, B.J., W.M. Wollheim, P.J. Mulholland, J.R. Webster, J.L. Meyer, J.L. Tank, E. Marti, W.B. Bowden, H.M. Valett, A.E. Hershey, W.H. McDowell, W.K. Dodds, S.K. Hamilton, S. Gregory, and D.J.D’Angelo. 2001. Control of nitrogen export from watersheds by headwater streams. Science 292:86-90.
Merriam, J.L., W.H. McDowell, J.L. Tank, W.M. Wollheim, C.L. Crenshaw , and S.L. Johnson. 2002. Characterizing nitrogen dynamics, retention and transport in a tropical rainforest stream using an in situ N-15 addition. Freshwater Biology 47:143-160.
Crenshaw, C.L., H.M. Valett, and J.L. Tank. 2002. Effects of coarse particulate organic matter on fungal biomass and invertebrate density in the subsurface of a headwater stream. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 21:28-42.
Findlay, S., J.L. Tank, S. Dye, H.M. Valett, P.J. Mulholland, W.H. McDowell, S. Johnson, S. Hamilton, J. Edmonds, W. K. Dodds, and W. B. Bowden. 2002. A cross-system comparison of bacterial and fungal biomass in detritus pools of headwater streams. Microbial Ecology 43: 55-66.
Dodds, W.K. , A. J. López, W. B. Bowden, S. Gregory, N. B. Grimm, S. K. Hamilton, A. E. Hershey, E. Martí, W. H.. McDowell, J. L. Meyer, D. Morrall, P. J. Mulholland, B. J. Peterson, J. L. Tank, H. M. Valett, J. R. Webster, and W. Wollheim. 2002. N uptake as a function of concentration in streams. Journal of the North American Benthologocal Society 21: 206-220.
Mulholland, P.J., J.L. Tank, J.R. Webster, W.K. Dodds, S.K. Hamilton, S.L. Johnson, E. Marti, W.H. McDowell, J. Merriam, J. L. Meyer, B.J. Peterson, H.M. Valett, and W.M. Wollheim. 2002. Can uptake length in streams be determined by nutrient addition experiments? Results from an inter-biome comparison study. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 21:544-560.
Sanzone , D.M., J.L. Meyer, E. Marti, E.P. Gardiner, J.L. Tank, and N.B. Grimm. 2003. Carbon and nitrogen transfer from a desert stream to riparian predators. Oecologia 134:238-250.
Hall, R.O. and J.L. Tank. 2003. Ecosystem metabolism controls nitrogen uptake in streams in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. Limnology and Oceanography 48: 1120-1128.
Tank, J., and W.K. Dodds. 2003. Nutrient limitation of epilithic and epixylic biofilms in ten North American streams. Freshwater Biology 48:1031-1049.
Webster, J.R., P.J. Mulholland, J.L. Tank, H.M. Valett, W.K. Dodds, B.J. Peterson, W.B. Bowden, C.N. Dahm, S. Findlay, S.V. Gregory, N.B. Grimm, S.K. Hamilton, S.L. Johnson, E. Marti, W.H. McDowell, J.L. Meyer, D.D. Morrall, S.A. Thomas, and W.M. Wollheim. 2003. Factors affecting ammonium uptake in streams – an inter-biome perspective. Freshwater Biology 48: 1329-1352.
Hall, R.O., J.L. Tank, and M.F. Dybdahl. 2003. Exotic snails dominate nitrogen and carbon cycling in a highly productive stream. Front Ecol Environ 1:407–411.
Bernot, M.J., W. K. Dodds, W. S. Gardner, M. J. McCarthy, D. Sobolev, and J.L. Tank. 2003. Comparing denitrification estimates for a Texas estuary by using acetylene inhibition and membrane inlet mass spectrometry. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 69:5950-5956.
Dodds, W.K., E. Martí, J.L. Tank, J. Pontius, S.K. Hamilton, N.B. Grimm, W.B. Bowden, W.H. McDowell, B. J. Peterson, H.M. Valett, J.R. Webster, S.V. Gregory. 2004. Carbon and nitrogen stoichiometry and nitrogen cycling rates in streams. Oecologia 140: 458-467.
Royer, T.V., J.L. Tank, and M.B. David. 2004. Transport and fate of nitrate in headwater agricultural streams in Illinois. Journal of Environmental Quality 33:1296-1304.
Ashkenas, L.R., S.L. Johnson, S.V. Gregory, J.L. Tank, and W.M. Wollheim. 2004. A stable isotope tracer study of nitrogen uptake and transformation in an old-growth forest stream. Ecology 85:1729-1735.
Schaller, J.L., T. V. Royer, M.B. David, and J.L. Tank. 2004. Denitrification associated with plants and sediments in an agricultural stream. Journal of the North American Benthologocal Society 23:667-676.
Hamilton, S.K., J.L. Tank, D.F. Raikow, E. Siler, N.Dorn, J. Halliday, and N. Leornard. 2004. The role of in-stream vs. allochthonous N in stream food webs: Modeling the results of an isotope addition experiment. Journal of the North American Benthological Society. 23:429-448.
Inwood, S.E., J.L. Tank, and M.J. Bernot. 2005. Patterns of denitrification associated with land use in 9 midwestern headwater streams. Journal of the North American Benthological Society. 24:227-245.
Hall, R.O. and J.L. Tank. 2005. Correcting whole-stream estimates of metabolism for groundwater input. Limnology and Oceanography Methods. 3:222-229.
Wall, L.G., J.L. Tank, T.V. Royer and M.J. Bernot. 2005. Spatial and temporal variability in sediment denitrification within an agriculturally influenced reservoir. Biogeochemistry. 76:85-111.
Bruesewitz, D.A., J.L. Tank, M.J. Bernot, W.B. Richardson, and E. A. Strauss. 2006. Seasonal effects of the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) on sediment denitrification rates in Pool 8 of the Upper Mississippi River. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 63:957-969.
David, M.B., Wall, L.G., Royer, T.V., and J.L. Tank. 2006. Denitrification and the nitrogen budget of a reservoir in an agricultural landscape. Ecological Applications 16:2177-2190.
Bernot, M.J., J.L. Tank, T.V. Royer, and M.B. David. 2006. Nutrient uptake in streams draining agricultural catchments of the midwestern United States. Freshwater Biology 51:499–509.
Tank, J.L., M.J. Bernot, and E.J. Rosi-Marshall. 2006. Nitrogen limitation and uptake. In Methods in stream ecology, eds F.R. Hauer and G.A. Lamberti. Pp. 213-238. Academic Press.
Gooseff, M.N., R.O. Hall, and J.L. Tank. 2007. Relating Transient Storage to Channel Complexity in Streams of Varying Land Use in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Water Resources Research 43:1-10
Inwood, S.E., J.L. Tank, and M.J. Bernot. 2007. Factors controlling sediment denitrification in Midwestern streams of varying land use. Microbial Ecology. 53:1-12.
Winterbourn, M.J., W.L. Chadderton, S.A. Entrekin, J. L. Tank, and J.S. Harding. 2007. Distribution and dispersal of adult stream insects in a heterogeneous montane environment. Archiv für Hydrobiologie 168: 127- 135.
Cordova, J.M., E.J. Rosi-Marshall, J.L. Tank, and G.A. Lamberti. In press. Coarse particulate matter transport in low-gradient streams of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Journal of the North American Benthological Society.
Arango, C.P., J.L. Tank, J.L. Schaller, T.V. Royer, M.J. Bernot, and M.B. In press. Benthic organic carbon influences denitrification in streams with high nitrate concentration. Freshwater Biology.
Hoellein, T.J., J.L. Tank, E.J. Rosi-Marshall, S.A. Entrekin, G.A. Lamberti. In press. Controls on spatial and temporal variation of nutrient uptake in three headwater streams in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Limnology & Oceanography.
Entrekin, S.A., E. J. Rosi-Marshall, J. L. Tank, T. J. Hoellein, and G. A. Lamberti. In press. Factors controlling macroinvertebrate secondary production in sand-bottomed forested streams of the upper Midwest. Journal of the North American Benthological Society.
Jennifer L. Tank CV
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