Euan Reavie, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate

Position and Focus

Dr. Reavie directs NRRI’s Field Station in Ely, Minnesota. His research interests include limnology and paleolimnology of lakes and rivers, environmental indicator development using freshwater algae, and assessment of technologies for effective treatment of ballast water.

Recent studies include:

• development of environmental quality indicators in North America’s Great Rivers using algal communities;
• tracking long–term pollution trends using fossil remains in sedimentary profiles from northern Minnesota;
• assessing the efficacy of potential ballast water treatments intended to prevent non–native species introductions to the Great Lakes; and,
• long–term monitoring of Great Lakes phytoplankton responses to stressors, including nutrient enrichment and climate change.

Background

Postdoctoral, Geology, University of Toronto, 1998 - 2000
Ph.D., Biology, Queen's University, 1994 – 1997
M.S., Biology, Queen's University, 1992 – 1994
B.S., Biology, Queen's University, 1988 – 1992

Current Publications

Briski EALE, Balcer M, Cangelosi A, Fanberg L, Markee TP, Mays N, Polkinghome CN, Prihoda KR, Reavie ED, Regan DH, Reid D, Saillard HJ, Schwerdt T, Schaefer H, TenEyck M, Wiley CJ, Bailey SA. 2013. A multi-dimensional approach to invasive species prevention. Environmental Science and Technology 47:1216-1221.

Reavie ED, Edlund MD. 2013. Assessing the performance of a diatom transfer function on four Minnesota lake sediment cores: effects of training set size and sample age. Journal of Paleolimnology 50:87-104.

Kireta AR, Reavie ED, Sgro GV, Angradi TR, Bolgrien DW, Hill BH, Jicha TM. 2012. Planktonic and periphytic diatoms as indicators of stress on great rivers of the United States: testing water quality and disturbance models. Ecological Indicators 13(1):222-231.

Kireta AR, Reavie ED, Sgro GV, Angradi TR, Bolgrien DW, Jicha TM, Hill BH. 2012. Assessing the condition of the Missouri, Ohio, and Upper Mississippi rivers (USA) using diatom-based indicators. Hydrobiologia 691(1):171-188.

Reavie ED, Barbiero RP. 2012. Recent changes in abundance and cell size of pelagic diatoms in the North American Great Lakes. Phytotaxa

Click here to view complete publication list.

Project list for Euan Reavie :

(A link will go to the project's current report, an arrow will take you to a project's home page)

Great Lakes Biological Monitoring: Phytoplankton
The primary objectives of the Great Lakes phytoplankton program are to: 1) collect phytoplankton from the Great Lakes; 2) identify and enumerate phytoplankton, maintaining quality assurance standards; 3) maintain a database of phytoplankton data; 4) interpret phytoplankton data, including evaluation of long-term trends in phytoplankton and food web dynamics; 5) dissemination of data and interpretations through reports, presentations, peer-reviewed journals and on the internet.

Research Development Testing and Evaluation Facility for Ballast Treatment in the Great Lakes Region
The Great Ships Initiative is a innovative collaboration whose objective is to end the problem of ship-mediated invasive species in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, including through independent research and demonstration of environmental technology, financial incentives and consistent basin-wide harbor monitoring. NRRI`s task in this effort is to develop, test and apply methods to evaluate the effectiveness of candidate treatments systems in their ability to exterminate algae and protozoans.

GLEI II - Indicator Testing and Refinement
The GLEI-II project will focus on wetland near shore conditions of the Great Lakes, and consist of five tasks: 1) Refine coastal ecosystem indicators from previous monitoring programs through calibration against updated landscape/land use information within the entire Great Lakes basin, 2) test the temporal and geographic integrity of existing Great Lakes indicators. Determine scores for a suite of metrics from sites not sampled previously, and test the applicability of metrics across the Great Lakes basin, including Canada, 3) test and compare analytical techniques to cross-calibrate indicators from concurrent monitoring programs, 4) evaluate indicators for cost-effectiveness, 5) implement a data collection, analysis, and reporting system for recommended indicators as well as a web-based reporting system that integrates landscape/land use information systems, and 6) create a map of baseline conditions for the Great Lakes basin based on historical and current monitoring information.

Lake of the Woods Paleolimnology Assessment
Lake of the Woods has been placed on Minnesota`s impaired list for nutrients and eutrophication indicators, so the future of the lake has become a high profile concern for the Ontario and Minnesota governments and the lake`s diverse group of stakeholders. Research recommendations and data gaps suggested that improved coordination of monitoring efforts and the construction of a long-term ecological reconstruction for the lake were logical steps in management of the resource. NRRI`s objective in this investigation is to collect sediment cores and use archived materials to provide long-term trends and trajectories of lake conditions for use in resource management.

Paleolimnology Workplan: Building a Long-term Water Quality Record for the White Iron Chain of Lakes
The White Iron Chain of Lakes comprises the lower portion of the Kawishiwi watershed, draining an area of 1,200 square miles of northern Minnesota’s Rainy River basin. Water quality in the White Iron Chain of Lakes has been subject to human-induced environmental changes since settlement of the region approximately 150 years ago. By describing in detail impacts caused by past environmental insults, we may be able to predict the impacts of future development scenarios. Our paleolimnological assessment will offer pre-settlement baselines, environmental trends, and the timing and magnitude of changes related to human activities. These evaluations will provide important background and remedial information.