Professor and Director, Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology; Research Investigator, CREE
Dr. Dev Niyogi's research centers on the effects of stress on ecosystem processes, including primary production and litter decomposition, in streams. Both natural and anthropogenic stresses affect almost all aquatic ecosystems. A "stress," such as mine drainage or agriculture, can pose several distinct stressors (having a negative influence), or in some cases subsidies (having a positive influence), to streams. He is most interested in how the effects of stress on ecosystem processes are mediated by the biological communities that perform those processes. The biomass, diversity, and specific taxa of communities can all affect the rates of ecosystem processes in stressed systems.
Dr. Niyogi's dissertation research at the University of Colorado examined the effects of mine drainage on ecosystem processes in streams, including primary production, decomposition, and nutrient cycling. Acid mine drainage poses several stresses to downstream ecosystems, including low pH, elevated concentrations of toxic metals, and deposition of metal oxides. These individual stresses have different effects on stream biota and the ecosystem processes that the biota control. For example, invertebrate consumers of leaf litter (called “shredders”) were affected mostly by dissolved metals, such as zinc, whereas microbes involved in litter breakdown were more affected by metal oxide deposition. Shredder activity was the key determinant of litter breakdown in my streams, as has been found in other streams.
His postdoctoral research focused on the effects of agricultural land use on streams in New Zealand. This topic is challenging because agriculture provides both subsidies (e.g., light and nutrients) and stresses (e.g., sediments) to streams. Small increases in light and nutrients at low levels of catchment development may lead to increases in ecological responses, including biodiversity and process rates. Large increases may lead to eutrophication and the loss of sensitive taxa. Sediment would usually have only a negative effect on ecological responses. Consequently, the net effect of catchment development on stream health follows a complex, nonlinear pattern.
CREE Research Investigator
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About Dev Niyogi
Dr. Dev Niyogi's research centers on the effects of stress on ecosystem processes, including primary production and litter decomposition, in streams. Both natural and anthropogenic stresses affect almost all aquatic ecosystems. A "stress," such as mine drainage or agriculture, can pose several distinct stressors (having a negative influence), or in some cases subsidies (having a positive influence), to streams. He is most interested in how the effects of stress on ecosystem processes are mediated by the biological communities that perform those processes. The biomass, diversity, and specific taxa of communities can all affect the rates of ecosystem processes in stressed systems.
Dr. Niyogi's dissertation research at the University of Colorado examined the effects of mine drainage on ecosystem processes in streams, including primary production, decomposition, and nutrient cycling. Acid mine drainage poses several stresses to downstream ecosystems, including low pH, elevated concentrations of toxic metals, and deposition of metal oxides. These individual stresses have different effects on stream biota and the ecosystem processes that the biota control. For example, invertebrate consumers of leaf litter (called “shredders”) were affected mostly by dissolved metals, such as zinc, whereas microbes involved in litter breakdown were more affected by metal oxide deposition. Shredder activity was the key determinant of litter breakdown in my streams, as has been found in other streams.
His postdoctoral research focused on the effects of agricultural land use on streams in New Zealand. This topic is challenging because agriculture provides both subsidies (e.g., light and nutrients) and stresses (e.g., sediments) to streams. Small increases in light and nutrients at low levels of catchment development may lead to increases in ecological responses, including biodiversity and process rates. Large increases may lead to eutrophication and the loss of sensitive taxa. Sediment would usually have only a negative effect on ecological responses. Consequently, the net effect of catchment development on stream health follows a complex, nonlinear pattern.
CREE Research Investigator
| September 2020 - Present | Professor, Missouri University of Science and Technology ‐ Biological Sciences | |
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| Present | Director, Missouri University of Science and Technology ‐ Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology | |
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| Present | Faculty Researcher, Missouri University of Science and Technology ‐ Center for Science, Technology, and Society (CSTS) | |
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| Present | Research Investigator, Missouri University of Science and Technology ‐ Center for Research in Energy and Environment (CREE) | |
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| August 2020 | Associate Professor, Missouri University of Science and Technology ‐ Biological Sciences | |
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| 2000 - 2002 | Post-doc, University of Otago ‐ Zoology | |
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Disciplines
Research Interests
| 1999 | Ph.D. in Environmental Biology, University of Colorado Boulder | |
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| 1989 | B.A. in Biology, Swarthmore College | |
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Contact Information
Missouri University of Science and Technology
110 E Schrenk Hall
400 W. 11th Street
Rolla, MO 65409
Phone: (573) 341-7191
Email: