Abstract: Particle transport is influenced by a combination of biological and physical factors. In stream ecology, the nutrient spiraling framework was introduced as a mechanism for tracking the movement of nutrients between inorganic and organic phases in the water column and substrate. Microplastic, another type of particle, also moves in suspension and is trapped in the substrate. However, spiraling metrics are rarely applied to this recalcitrant form of organic Carbon. In this presentation, I will introduce basic nutrient spiraling theory and describe its application to microplastic. In addition, I will describe a few of the projects included in my dissertation which focused on Nitrogen cycling and transport in agriculturally impacted waterways. In particular, my seminar will focus on the use of winter cover crops as a conservation strategy used to mitigate losses of Nitrogen and Phosphorus during the winter and spring fallow period after cash crops (e.g., corn or soybeans) are harvested.

Bio: Dr. Anna Vincent is a biogeochemist and ecosystem ecologist, and is currently a postdoctoral scholar with the Northwestern-Argonne Institute of Science and Engineering. She completed her PhD at the University of Notre Dame under the direction of Dr. Jennifer Tank where she assessed controls on inorganic Nitrogen cycling and changes to stream metabolism following storms in agricultural streams. Prior to attending Notre Dame, she obtained a Master's degree from Loyola University Chicago under the direction of Dr. Timothy Hoellein where she characterized microplastic transport in urban streams using classical stream spiraling metrics and assessed the effects of plastic pollution of microbial community composition. Her current work is focused on using green infrastructure to monitor climate change dynamics in urban environments. In her seminar, she'll be presenting on a combination of work from her Master's and PhD looking at microplastic transport and the efficacy of conservation strategies at mitigating inorganic N losses from productive landscapes, respectively.