Ryan B. Wallace

Projects

I am currently a graduate student at Stony Brook University in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. I am working in Dr. Christopher Gobler's laboratory located on the Stony Brook Southampton campus. Dr. Gobler's lab focuses primarily on phytoplankton ecology and more specifically on the study of harmful algal species. Another area of research within the Gobler lab is on the effects that different anthropogenic processes have on the ecological functioning of coastal ecosystsems. For more information regarding ongoing research; check out the Gobler Lab website.

Collecting water in Hewlett Bay

Research Interests

I am predominantly interested in the phytoplankton dynamics within hypereutrophic urban estuaries. More specifically, in areas where the primary anthropogenic source of nutrients is from the discharge of wastewater effluent. As coastal populations increase worldwide, so does the discharge of wastewater into our fragile coastal ecosystems. This increase in nutrient loading negatively impacts coastal ecosystems in many ways; including the increase in occurrence of harmful macro- and microalgal blooms. Another interest of mine is the chronic bottom hypoxia caused by rapid microbial respiration that can be associated with these harmful algal blooms. This hypoxia caused by eutrophication can negatively impact both benthic and pelagic organisms in estuarine systems. As a life long resident of Long Island, I have witnessed the increase in abundance and toxicity of harmful algal blooms in local waters as well as the decline in shellfish. I believe that it is necessary to gain a better understanding of the complex algal dynamics which are taking place in Long Island's coastal systems. This knowledge will help us to better utilize sustainable marine practices and in turn help to better protect our valuable marine resources.

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Projects

The effects of nutrients on algae in Jamaica Bay: Quantifying the interactions among nutrient loads, primary producers and dissolved oxygen (2010-present)

Jamaica Bay is situated along the southwest corner of Long Island and is the western extent of Long Island's south shore estuary region. It is in close proximity to New York City and receives a daily discharge of more than 250 million gallons of effluent from four major sewage treatment plants. Jamaica Bay experiences prolonged high density phytoplankton blooms throughout much of the year and many regions of the bay are overgrown with the macroalgae Ulva lactuca. Oddly enough, there has never been a peer reviewed publication on the interactions between nutrient loads, primary producers and dissolved oxygen levels in Jamaica Bay. With funding provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the assistance of the NYC Department of Environmental Protection and the National Park Service, Dr. Gobler and myself are conducting an intensive two year study to determine the spatial and temporal dynamics of nutrients, phytoplankton communities and macroalgae within the bay. The data generated from this study will be used to assist the environmental consulting firm, Hydroqual, in predicting the linkages between phytoplankton communities, nutrients and dissolved oxygen by providing their Jamaica Bay Eutrophication Model (JEM) with more accurate data for modeling purposes. This study will also aid in the incorporation of macroalgae into models such as JEM and this will further assist the Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan's management strategies.

NYCDEP R/V Osprey

Eutrophication in the Western Bays of New York's South Shore Estuary Reserve: Causes and potential solutions (2010-present)

The Western Bays region consists of shallow bays, tidal creeks and salt marsh islands located on the south shore of Long Island. Since 2006, this region has been listed on the DEC's impaired water body list for nutrients. The School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences is working with New York state to generate a data set to determine a 'Total maximum daily load' for nitrogen. With assisitance from Town of Hempstead Department of Conservation and Waterways, Dr. Gobler and myself are continuing our survey of the water column in this region so that we may answer some important questions regarding the environmental problems that exist in the Western Bays.

What nutrients control the growth of primary producers in Western Bays?

What can be done to mitigate the occurrence of algal blooms in Western Bays?

We already have some preliminary data from the 2010 field season! Some of this data was presented as a poster in this years Stony Brook Southampton Coastal Estuarine Research Program (SCERP) symposium. Additional data was presented by R. Lawrence Swanson.

Link: http://www.somas.stonybrook.edu/news_events/news/2010/100924/index.html
Western Bays presentation PDF
Western Bays SCERP poster.PDF

Historic Bay House, Town of Hempstead

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Agawam Lake: An evaluation of water quality and ecosystem health (2009-present)

Agawam Lake is a 75-acre coastal pond on the South Fork of eastern Long Island which lies in the heart of Southampton Village. Agawam Lake experiences dense blooms of toxic cyanobacteria annually. Occasional fish kills occur within Agawam due to hypoxic/anoxic conditions. Numerous graduate students in the Gobler Lab have been monitoring Agawam Lake since 2003. I have been monitoring Agawam Lake since 2009 to assess the general water quality and health of this system.

For more information on Agawam Lake:

Link: http://lakeagawam.com/
Gobler, C.J., R. Wallace, M.J. Harke. 2009. An evaluation of water quality and ecosytstem health. Technical report for the Village of Southampton.

Mill Pond and blue-green algae blooms: Problems and potential solutions (2009-present)

Mill Pond is a 92-acre eutrophic pond in the Village of Water Mill on the South Fork of eastern Long Island. It experiences chronic cyanobacteria blooms on an annual basis. SCERP monitoring first reported toxin-producing species of blue-green algae in 2005 and in September of 2008 a lake-wide fish kill event occurred. This study was undertaken to characterize the water quality in Mill Pond and to construct a budget for sources of nitrogen and phosphorous for this system.

For more information on Mill Pond:

Link: http://www.hamptons.com/detail.php?articleID=5044
Mill Pond SCERP poster 2010.PDF

Feasibility study to eradicate aquatic invasive/nuisance species in Canaan Lake, North Patchogue and Upper & Lower Lakes, Yaphank (2009-2010)

Canaan Lake, Upper Lake and Lower Lake are all located in Suffolk County, NY and suffer from excessive growth of invasive macroalgae. I conducted field work at all 3 lakes for a one year period from 2009-2010 to assess the water quality and sediment characteristics.

For more infromation on the Suffolk County Lake Study:

Link: http://www.suffolkcountylakes.net/index.html
Gobler, C.J., R. Wallace. 2010. Feasibility study to eradicate aquatic invasive/nuisance species. Technical report for Suffolk County.

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Curricuum Vitae

For a PDF version of my current CV: Click Here!

Additional Links

http://www.citizenscampaign.org/campaigns/south-shore-estuary.asp
Jamaica Bay & Western Bay Presentation PDF
Long Island Lakes SCERP poster 2011.PDF
http://www.27east.com/story_detail.cfm?id=232982
http://www.stonybrook.edu/

Contact Information

email: rbwallac@ic.sunysb.edu

Office:
SUNY Stony Brook
School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
149 Challenger Hall
Stony Brook University, NY 11974-5000

Lab:
SUNY Stony Brook
Southampton Campus
Natural Sciences Building
239 Montauk Highway
Southampton, NY 11968-4100

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Updated: April 2011