The Twin Ports Freshwater Folk invites you to their next event on October 2, 2024. This month’s speaker will be PJ Torres, assistant professor of biology at the College of the Holy Cross, who is currently on sabbatical in the Twin Ports.
In-person attendees are invited to the EPA's Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division Lab for networking, sandwiches, and plenty of fresh water at 11:30 a.m. The online and in-person presentation will begin at noon. Sadly, the Zoom option is sandwich-free.
This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.
Location:
Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division Lab, Ontonagon Room
6201 Congdon Blvd, Duluth, Minnesota 55804
Registration:
- In-person registration
- Virtual registration (Begins at noon; no virtual discussion)
Event schedule:
- 11:30 a.m. Lunch and networking (in-person only)
- 12:00 p.m. Attendee announcements
- 12:05 p.m. Seminar(s)
- 12:45 p.m. Moderated question and answer session
- Adjourning by 1 p.m. at latest.
Presentation Abstract:
Puerto Rico’s freshwater systems are dominated by native shrimp assemblages, which play a crucial role in regulating ecosystem processes and shaping community structure. However, watershed geomorphology naturally influences the distribution and abundance of these shrimp and large dams can extirpate them from entire watersheds.
This creates a patchy dynamic in ecosystem structure and function, where the loss of shrimp's top-down regulation leads to significant changes in benthic algae, organic matter levels, leaf litter breakdown, and nutrient dynamics. Moreover, the absence of native shrimp assemblages may be facilitating the establishment and spread of the invasive Australian red-claw crayfish. In this seminar, Torres will highlight the ecosystem-level effects of shrimp extirpation across Puerto Rico and provide an update on the invasion status of the Australian red-claw crayfish.
Presenter Bio:
Pedro J. Torres (PJ) earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences from the University of Puerto Rico - Río Piedras and a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Georgia, where he studied the effects of large dams on headwater streams in Puerto Rico as part of the Luquillo Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project.
Torres has served as a Consortium for Faculty Diversity fellow at Denison University and held visiting faculty positions at Queens University of Charlotte, Colgate University, and Allegheny College, before securing a tenure-track position at the College of the Holy Cross. Currently, he leads a team of undergraduate researchers examining urbanization's impact on ecosystem ecology in the Blackstone River headwaters and conducts his own research in Puerto Rico, focusing on tracking the invasion of the Australian red-claw crayfish across the island's freshwater systems and collaborating with the LTER on the impacts of droughts and hurricanes on forested headwater streams.
About TPFF:
Twin Ports Freshwater Folk (TPFF) is an informal gathering of people from the Twin Ports who are engaged in freshwater research, policy, or regulation issues. Meetings take place on the first Wednesday of every month and include networking, informal discussion, and a seminar.
Event sponsors:
- Minnesota Sea Grant
- Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
- Large Lakes Observatory at the University of Minnesota Duluth
- Natural Resources Research Institute at the University of Minnesota Duluth
Subscribe:
Sign up to receive notifications about upcoming TPFF events.
Contact:
Alex Frie, research and fellowship coordinator, Minnesota Sea Grant, University of Minnesota and University of Minnesota Duluth.
A collage of three images. One shows a rocky stream in a jungle, one shows an Australian red-claw crayfish, and one shows a large concrete dam.