Lauren Simmons, PhD candidate in the Department of Biological Sciences at UW-Milwaukee, will present a talk about her research, entitled ‘Phytoplankton Mortality in an Urban Pond: Understanding the Roles of Abiotic Factors, Grazing Pressure and Allelopathy’.

Phytoplankton communities consist of a dynamic assemblage of organisms, existing in an ever-changing environment. Both abiotic (light, temperature, nutrients) and biotic factors (grazing, species interactions) have been considered to regulate phytoplankton growth, but other factors may be at play that we know much less about – loss processes and cell mortality. Traditionally, losses are thought to be due to sedimentation or grazing, with little consideration of other causes, such as environmental factors or allelopathic interactions. Here Lauren presents her work, looking to understand the role that abiotic and biotic factors have in shaping the phytoplankton community and cell mortality in an urban pond.

The presentation will begin at 4:00 PM via Microsoft Teams, preceded by an informal Q&A from 3:45 – 4:00 PM.