Anticipated effects of climate change on Door County and Green Bay, Lake Michigan
Bart De Stasio, Ph.D., professor of biology and environmental studies at Lawrence University, will explain projections for climate change in Door County and discuss the effects on the county’s ecology and surrounding waters in Green Bay and Lake Michigan. These will include more intense rainfall, more and larger algae blooms, an expanded “dead zone” in Green Bay and consequences for fish and other aquatic life. He’ll also explain how resilience and adaptability strategies can make a difference for our future. This program will be presented in partnership with the Clean Water Action Council, Door County Environmental Council, and Lawrence University.
The program is free and open to the public.
Bart De Stasio received his Ph.D. from Cornell University in ecology and evolution, and has been teaching courses in biology and environmental studies at Lawrence University (LU) since 1992. He currently also serves on the Board of the Northeast Wisconsin Land Trust. Professor De Stasio conducts research with students on the impacts of invasive species and climate change on the ecology of Green Bay, Lake Michigan and inland lakes of Wisconsin.
De Stasio’s award winning research on dormancy in aquatic organisms and its impact on the ecology and evolution of lake communities continues with the 2nd edition of his edited book Diapause in Aquatic Invertebrates. In addition, he is lead author on an updated chapter on temperature and climate change as driving factors in lake ecology for the upcoming 2nd edition of the Encyclopedia of Inland waters. He has had grants from the U.S. Dept. of Energy, the National Science Foundation and the Wisconsin Sea Grant program for his studies of the potential effects of climate change on lakes. He also co-directs the LU Marine Biology Program where students and faculty study the ecology of coral reefs on the Cayman Islands as part of an integrated term focused on marine biology. Over the years he has performed research in Green Bay, Lake Michigan, the Baltic Sea, coral reefs in the Caribbean, Lake Baikal in Siberia, and numerous smaller lakes in New England and the Midwest.