Peter E. Schweizer
Ph.D. November 2008
Athens, Ohio
Email: ps128502@ohio.edu
Phone: +1 (740) 593 1131
Advisor: Dr. Glenn R. Matlack
Supporting Department: Environmental and Plant Biology
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Ecosystem ecology, watershed ecology, interactions between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, land cover change, conservation biology, invasive species, application of remote sensing and GIS / GIA.
Human activities interact with the environment and often alter landscapes. While some changes appear slow and are almost unnoticeable others can be quite dramatic and progress at a much faster time scale. Watersheds form natural ecologic units suitable to assess impacts of land use and land cover change over a range of spatial and temporal scales.
For my dissertation work I examined the role of spatial distribution of land cover on ecological integrity at the watershed scale for small coastal plain streams. I am interested in how the spatial distribution of land cover and land use integrates surface hydrology and how such interactions influence watershed ecology.
Using multi-spectral aerial photography and GIS the project reconstructed local land use history from 1938 until 2003, and quantified land cover distribution within watersheds of headwater streams in the outer coastal plain in Mississippi. The study evaluated watershed condition based on measurements of water quality, creek bed geomorphology and stream fish assemblages.
Competing spatial models were compared to identify at the watershed scale, the reach scale, and at individual sampling site the land cover and contributing variables exerting the strongest influence on water quality and fish assemblage composition as biotic indicators of ecological integrity. Results of the study could contribute to the development of cost surface based land use planning models which utilize existing spatial distribution of land use within watersheds for prediction of potential impacts from projected land use change on water quality and biotic integrity.
FUTURE DIRECTION
As ecologist I consider RS, GIS & GIA as essential tools to address temporal and spatial-scale questions. Currently I am looking for a post doc or research position to apply and further develop these skills in active research and collaboration with projects in spatial ecology or related fields.
Page last updated 10/ 27/ 2008