Palen Lab
Aquatic Ecology and Conservation Simon Fraser University, Dept. of Biological Sciences
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Research Overview


The research program of my group is broadly defined by the ecology of aquatic communities, currently ranging from amphibian populations of California, the Pacific Northwest, and the far north, to the river and lake food webs that support salmon populations from California to Alaska. We rely heavily on field-based experimental manipulations to tease apart the mechanistic underpinnings of ecological patterns, from species physiology to food web interactions. However, we are also fundamentally committed to the growing necessity for understanding the dynamics of individuals, populations, and communities at the broad spatial and temporal scales relevant to the conservation and management of aquatic systems. This kind of applied ecological problem-solving requires tailoring a combination of approaches to each particular question; from lab-based physiological assays, behavioural observations, manipulative field experiments, landscape-scale surveys, paleoecological reconstructions, population dynamics modeling, and importantly, the emerging quantitative challenge of drawing all of them together.


My lab is a founding member of the Earth2Ocean Research Group (www.earth2ocean.org) at Simon Fraser. As a group, we are committed to training students to be excellent individual researchers with a strong quantitative focus as well as skilled collaborators that are motivated by ecological and conservation problems that often exceed our individual specialties or capabilities. 



Selected Publications


Greig, H.S., Kratina, P., Thompson, P.L., Palen, W.J., Richardson, J.S., Shurin, J.B. 2011. Warming, eutrophication, and predator loss amplify subsidies between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Global Change Biology, 18 (2), 504-514.

                                                                                                                                   
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Palen, W.J., Schindler, D.E. 2010. Water clarity, maternal behavior, and physiology combine to eliminate UV radiation risk to amphibians in a montane landscape. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107 (21)

                                                                                                                         
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Kupferberg, S.J., Catenazzi, A., Lunde, K., Lind, A.J., Palen W.J. 2009. Parasitic copepod (Lernea cyprinacea) outbreaks in foothill yellow-legged frogs (Rana boylii) linked to unusually warm summers and amphibian malformations in Northern California. Copeia, 2009 529-537.

                                                                                                                         
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                                                             *link to National Geographic’s coverage here.


Palen, W.J., Williamson, C.E., Clauser, A.A., and Schindler, D.E. 2005. Impact of UV-B exposure on amphibian embryos; linking species physiology to oviposition behavior. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, 272 1227-1234.

                                                                                                                         
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Winder, M., Schindler, D.E., Moore, J.W. Johnson, S.P., and Palen, W.J. 2005. Do bears facilitate transfer of salmon resources to aquatic macroinvertebrate scavengers? Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 62 2285-2293.

                                                                                                                         
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Palen, W.J., Schindler, D.E., Adams, M.J., Pearl, C.A., Bury, R.B., and Diamond, S.A. 2004. Optical characteristics of natural waters protect amphibians from UV-B in the U.S. Pacific Northwest: a reply. Ecology, 86 1754-1759.

                                                                                                                         
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Schindler, D.E., Scheuerell, M.D., Moore, J.W., Gende, S.M., Francis, T.B., and Palen, W.J. 2003. Pacific salmon and the ecology of coastal ecosystems. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 1 31-37.

                                                                                                                          
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Palen, W.J., Schindler, D.E., Adams, M.J., Pearl, C.A., Bury, R.B., and Diamond, S.A. 2002. Optical characteristics of natural waters protect amphibians from UV-B in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Ecology, 83 2951-2957.

                                                                                                                           
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Harding, E.K., Crone, E.E., Eldred, B.D., Hoekstra, J.M., McKerrow A.J., Perrine, J.D., Regetz J., Rissler, L.J., Stanley, A.G., Walters, E.L., and NCEAS HCP Working Group* 2001. The Scientific Foundations of Habitat Conservation Plans: a Quantitative Assessment. Conservation Biology, 15 488-500.

                                                                                                                           
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  1. • Viorel Popescu named a 2012 David H. Smith Postdoctoral Fellow!


  1. •Janie Dubman joins the lab as an MSc student


  1. •Zach Montieth wins two presentation awards; Western Hemisphere Shorebird Conference and IDEAS symposium!


  1. •Robin Munshaw, Hannah Gehrels, and Aly Serena win NSERC USRA awards to do field projects summer 2011!


  1. •Maureen Ryan named a 2011 David H. Smith Conservation Fellow!


  1. • Amanda Kissel wins CARCNET student award and Canadian Wildlife Foundation funds our Oregon spotted frog project!


  1. • Robin Munshaw wins best short oral presentation at annual IDEAS symposium!


  1. • PNAS publishes our paper on lack of UV effects for amphibians in the Pacific NW


  1. • Two undergrads from the lab win NSERC USRA awards--Danielle Courcelles and Zach Montieth!


  1. • Amanda Kissel and Sacha O’Regan join the lab summer 2010 as MSc students


  1. • Will Atlas joins the lab as an MSc student


  1. • Former lab manager Beth Nyboer awarded NSERC fellowship for her MSc at McGill with Lauren Chapman


  1. •Danielle Courcelles, Jodie McCormick, and Beth Nyboer present at the Pacific Ecol. & Evol. Conference (PEEC).