Summer Lecture Series: Bryophytes: The Hidden Engineers of Mountain Streams

SUMMER LECTURE SERIES – Rooted in Research: Decades of Forest Discovery
Bryophytes: The Hidden Engineers of Mountain Streams
by Heili Lowman, Watershed Ecologist and Aquatic Biogeochemist, Duke University Postdoctoral Scientist
 

Have you heard of aquatic bryophytes? The group includes mosses, liverworts, and hornworts, and they do surprisingly big work in the headwater streams of the White Mountains — filtering sediment, capturing nutrients, and creating habitat for countless creatures. Yet these tiny plants are often overlooked in how we think about stream health. Join us for a look at ongoing research into the hidden role these remarkable plants play in our local waterways.
 

Bio: Heili Lowman is a watershed ecologist and aquatic biogeochemist who is currently a postdoctoral scientist at Duke University in partnership with the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. Her research focuses on links between stream and forest ecosystems, with a particular emphasis on monitoring how signals of disturbance (floods, fires, changing winters) move across ecosystem boundaries. Heili enjoys teaching and mentoring, and in her spare time, she loves to cook and throw pottery.