McGlathery, Karen J.
Primary Appointment
Environmental Sciences
Contact Information
PO Box 400123
217 Clark Hall
Telephone: 434-924-0558 ext 636
Fax: 434-982-2137
Email: kjm4k@virginia.edu
Website: http://www.evsc.virginia.edu/mcglathery-karen/
Research Disciplines
Environmental Sciences
Research Interests
Aquatic ecology, biogeochemical controls on estuarine nutrient dynamics, ecophysiology of algae and seagrasses, marine conservation and management.
Research Description
Current research focuses on the biogeochemical controls of nutrient availability and on nutrient limitation of marine macrophytes (algae and seagrasses) in both temperate and tropical coastal ecosystems. This work involves field and laboratory investigations, and examines the direct linkage between macrophyte ecophysiology and processes at the community and ecosystem level. Active research projects include studies of macroalgal effects on nutrient dynamics in shallow coastal waters, the coupling of macrophyte production and heterotrophic nitrogen fixation, and the geochemical mechanisms influencing phosphorus availability in tropical carbonate marine sediments. The application of much of this work concerns the effects of, and recovery from, eutrophication in shallow coastal regions.