Jon Kenning
Visiting Assistant Professor
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Courses Offered
- BIO 385 - Ecology, Geography and Health of Lakes
- BIO 390 - Environmental Science
- BIO 401 - Biometry
- BIO 485 - Marine and Freshwater Ecology
- BIO 486 - Freshwater Ecology Laboratory
Research Interests
- Ecosystem ecology
- Wetland Restoration
- Food webs and trophic cascades
- Nutrient and carbon fluxes through ecosystems
- CO2 source/sink behavior of ecosystems
- Wintertime ecology
- Interaction between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems
- Organism and gene transfer between ecosystems
- Paleoecology
Current Research
Shallow lakes exist in either a phytoplankton-dominated, turbid-water state or a macrophyte-dominated, clear-water state. Since the source of carbon is primarily plants (macrophytes) in one state and algae (phytoplankton) in another, the quality of carbon could differ greatly between states thus affecting everything from the lake's food web to its ability to sequester carbon dioxide. I am observing the effects of food web manipulations on the persistence of macrophytes and algae, and its subsequent effects on the carbon cycle of wetlands in the prairie pothole region of Minnesota.
Additionally, I am studying the longterm persistence of clear and turbid states using stable isotopes and macropscopic organic matter stored for centuries in sediments of wetlands. Many people believe turbid-water states are due to anthropogenic influences. Using sediment cores, I will try to determine if clear, macrophyte-dominated wetlands were much more common before European settlers arrived.
Recent Publications
Camill, P., C.E. Umbanhowar Jr., R. Teed, C.E. Geiss, J. Aldinger, L. Dvorak, J. Kenning, J. Limmer and K. Walkup. 2003. Late-glacial and Holocene climatic effects on fire and vegetation dynamics at the prairie-forest ecotone in south-central Minnesota. Journal of Ecology 91: 822-836
Last modified: June 24, 2008
