Elena Litchman
Assistant Professor
Ph. D. University of Minnesota, 1997
W. K. Kellogg Biological Station
Office Telephone: 269-671-2338
litchman@kbs.msu.edu
Research Website
Aquatic Ecology; Community Ecology; Limnology; Phytoplankton Ecology, Physiology and Evolution; Biogeochemical Impacts of Phytoplankton; Global Change
I am interested in how the interplay of biotic and abiotic factors structures phytoplankton communities in both freshwater and marine environments. Currently our lab focuses on the following questions:
Effects of Temporal and Spatial Heterogeneity on Phytoplankton Communities
We have been looking at how fluctuating resources such as light and nutrients affect competition and coexistence in phytoplankton. We are also interested in identifying and testing the mechanisms leading to heterogeneous vertical distributions of phytoplankton, such as subsurface chlorophyll maxima.
Ecological Traits, Trade-offs and Community Structure
We seek to understand how ecological traits and trade-offs determine plankton community structure under different environmental conditions. Using laboratory experiments and data analysis, we characterize growth and resource utilization traits, trade-offs and ecological strategies of major phytoplankton functional groups from both freshwater and marine environments. We then use mechanistic models to explain and predict the occurrence and dominance of these phytoplankton groups. We test model predictions in laboratory experiments with phytoplankton communities.
Global Change Effects
I have a keen interest in how different aspects of the human-induced global change will impact aquatic ecosystems, phytoplankton communities in particular. Among the factors we have been looking at are the increased ultraviolet (UV) radiation and the increased concentration of greenhouse gases changing temperature, precipitation and water circulation. Using experiments and models we investigate how these factors may alter phytoplankton community structure and dynamics.
Representative Publications
Litchman, E., C.A. Klausmeier, O.M. Schofield and P.G. Falkowski. 2007. The role of functional traits and trade-offs in structuring phytoplankton communities: scaling from cellular to ecosystem level. Ecology Letters, 10: 1170-1181.
Litchman, E. Resource competition and the ecological success of phytoplankton. 2007. In: P.G. Falkowski and A.H. Knoll (Eds) Evolution of Primary Producers in the Sea . Elsevier. pp. 351-375.
Litchman, E., C.A. Klausmeier, J.R. Miller, O.M. Schofield, and P.G. Falkowski. 2006. Multi-nutrient, multi-group model of present and future oceanic phytoplankton communities. Biogeosciences, 3: 585-606.
Kay, A.D., I.W. Ashton, E. Gorokhova, A.J. Kerkhoff, A. Liess, and E. Litchman. 2005. Toward a stoichiometric framework for evolutionary biology. Okios 109: 6-17.
Klausmeier, C.A., E. Litchman, T. Daufresne, and S. A. Levin. 2004. Optimal N:P stoichiometry of phytoplankton. Nature 429: 171-174.
Litchman, E., P.J. Neale, and A.T. Banaszak. 2002. Increased sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation in nitrogen-limited dinoflagellates: photoprotection and repair. Limnology and Oceanography 47: 86-94.
Litchman, E. and C.A. Klausmeier. 2001. Competition of phytoplankton under fluctuating light. American Naturalist 157: 170-187.