Jonathan Behrens (PC: Colin Tierney)

I am an urban ecologist that explores the impact of human activities on the functioning of freshwater ecosystems and the cascading effect on human communities and societies. You can find me wading in stream ecosystems that drain watersheds impacted by cities, farms, and industrial activity or protected forests; there we research how human-driven stressors (organic and inorganic chemical contaminants, heat, and hydrologic "flashiness") impact primary and secondary biological production, food web interactions, and the resulting fate and transport of chemical contaminants. I'm particularly interested in engaging stakeholders within the broader community to conduct research and communicate results to inform water resource management decisions and policies. My research engages concepts, theories, and methods from the fields of biological, chemical, geological, and social sciences. In particular: ecosystem and community ecology, environmental chemistry, biogeochemistry, and ecotoxicology.

I am currently a Postdoctoral Research Association at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, advised by Scott Brooks, Marie Kurz, and Natalie Griffiths as part of the Watershed Dynamics and Evolution Science Focus Area. I received my PhD in Ecology within the interdisciplinary Duke University River Center, advised by Dr. Emily Bernhardt and Dr. Martin Doyle.

Prior to graduate studies, as a fellow at the Science and Technology Policy Institute, I engaged in research projects to support federal agencies and the cabinet-level National Science and Technology Council on drinking water contaminants, methane emissions, space policy, and management of research funding for health, earth observation, and energy sciences.

I also wrote for the American Institute of Physics’ FYI: Science Policy News, covering federal science policy developments on Capitol Hill and various science agencies. I was republished by Physics Today and American Physics Society News, and interviewed by a Texas NPR radio affiliate.

Cherry blossoms on the Potomac River, DC
(Credit: J. Behrens/CC BY-NC)

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