 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
|
b |
Michael S. Adams Professor of Botany and Environmental Studies Ph.D. (1968) University of California, Riverside
Office: 321 Birge Hall |
|
|
|
|
|||
|
blank |
My current research with colleagues in Germany (Institute of Hydrobiology in Hamburg) and the Czech Republic (Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of the Sciences) centers on studies to better understand the restoration of aquatic and wetland ecosystems. Our studies include the ecology of river basins within the greater Elbe catchment.
One such basin is that of the Alster River, located in and around the State of Hamburg, Germany. The Alster is an extensively polluted, urbanized river of great historical importance, which is currently experiencing a clean-up effort of unprecedented proportions. The fifteen-year projected sewerage renovation currently in progress designed to protect the river's water quality is estimated to cost more than $600 million. Urban settlement along the Alster began in the 9th century at its confluence with the Elbe, at the site of present-day Hamburg. We are interested in the biological and physical changes now affecting communities of the Alster ecosystem, the history of development of impoundments and canals along the river, and the development of the modern regional sewerage system. The Alster is undergoing some of the most dramatic ecological changes of any riverine ecosystem in modern European history; understanding these changes may provide a blueprint for future urban river restoration efforts worldwide. Our studies of the Alster and its catchment help support efforts to restore this important ecosystem.
My Hamburg colleagues and I are working to develop a data collection designed to demonstrate the dramatic changes in the ecology of the entire Elbe River subsequent to the reunification of Germany and the fall of communist rule throughout much of the entire catchment. We are summarizing data to show recent dramatic reductions in pollution, mainly associated with the collapse of the former industrial regime within the basin that prevailed between the end of World War II and 1990. In addition to large reductions in pollutants in the river fauna, the riverbed sediments demonstrate greatly increased biotic diversity.
In the Czech Republic, my former student Dr. Keith Edwards and I work with our Czech colleague Dr. Jan Kvet on a study on the ecology of a wetland species native to Europe, which is invasive in North American wetlands-purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria).
Opportunities may exist for graduate students to become involved with continuing research within these subprojects. I am also interested in promoting graduate research in the general field of conservation of biodiversity; for example, a Ph.D. student (Philip Nyhus) in my group studies the management of a buffer zone around a national park in Indonesia, associated with the protection of the Sumatran tiger. Recent Publications Adams,
M. S., H. Kausch, T. Gaumert and K. E. Kr|ger. 1996. The effect of the
reunification of Germany on the water chemistry and ecology of some
selected surface water bodies. Environmental Conservation 23:35-73. Edwards,
K. R., M. S. Adams and J. Kvet. 1995. Invasion history and ecology of Lythrum
salicaria L. in North America. In: Plant Invasions-General Aspects and
Applications. P. K. Pysek, P. K. Prach, M. Rejmanek and P. M. Wade, eds.
SPB Academic Press, The Hague. Adams,
M. S., T. Meinke and T. Kratz. 1993. Primary productivity of three
Wisconsin lakes, 1985-1990. Verhandlungen Internationalen Vereinigung für
Limnologie. 25:406-410. Sagova,
M. and M. S. Adams. 1993. Aggregation of numbers, size and taxa of benthic
animals at four levels of spatial scale. Archiv für Hydrobiologie.
128:329-352. Sagova, M., M. S. Adams and M. G. Butler. 1993. Relationship between plant roots and benthic animals in three sediment types of a dimictic mesotrophic lake. Archiv. Hydrobiol 128:423-436. Courses | Research Group | Additional Publications | COS Listing | Ecology Section | Botany Department © 2000 University of
Wisconsin Department of Botany |
||
