Cyanobacteria Testing Pond - Auburn Alabama

Studying ecological factors influencing cyanobacterial bloom formation in recreational reservoirs, aquaculture ponds, and other systems along with studying factors leading to taste, odor, and toxicity issues in drinking water reservoirs.

0

Current PhD & MS Students

0

Past PhD & MS Students

0

Current Undergrad Researchers

0

Past Undergrad Researchers

0

Lab Publications

$0

Historic Grant Funding (Millions)

Latest News

October 10, 2023

Hannah’s first MS thesis chapter has been published. This project was a nice collaboration with our USDA ARS colleague, Allen Torbert, that involved many students in the lab. Exciting!

Zinnert, H. M., M. F. Gladfelter, H. Peyton Poe, K. L. Merrill, A. V. Hennessey, M. B. McDonald, D. Wang, H. A. Torbert, and A. E. Wilson. In press. Positive and negative impacts of flue gas desulfurization (FGD) gypsum on water quality. Journal of Environmental Management.

October 4, 2023

Iwo’s meta-analysis has been published in Biological Reviews. Super interesting and important study highlighting challenges with wildlife conservation. Nice job, Iwo.

Gross, I. P. , A. E. Wilson, and M. E. Wolak. In press. The fitness consequences of wildlife conservation translocations: a meta-analysis. Biological Reviews.

October 3, 2023

Our time with the DAAD Rise scholar, Steffi Drescher, has come to an end. Steffi conducted some exciting research that we hope to extend in the future. Come back and see us, Steffi.

July 28, 2023

Congratulations to Hannah Zinnert (on right) for completing her M.S.! First of my graduate students to get all of their chapters submitted to a journal before graduating! New high bar for the lab!

June 16, 2023

Alan had a wonderful time at ASLO in Spain. Beautiful place and excellent food. Plus I was able to see graduated (Edna!) and incoming (Gabriela!) students. The HABs session was excellent. Lots of great talks. I presented Saranya’s meta-analysis in front of a huge screen.

May 9, 2023

One of our remote high school researchers, Rebecca Chen, reported back that her algacide experiment project took home the 2nd place trophy in the Environmental category at the Connecticut STEM Science Fair. Good work, Rebecca.


We are also looking for new Ph.D. or M.S. students to join us in 2024!

Interested prospective students are encouraged to contact Alan at wilson@auburn.edu Learn more about these openings here!

Follow us on Social Media!

About the Lab

Our approach to research is multidimensional. First, we use large-scale observational studies and meta-analysis of existing data from the literature to discover patterns in nature. Then, we identify mechanisms mediating these patterns through laboratory and field-based experimentation.

As a community ecologist, I am generally interested in consumer-prey interactions and identifying the ecological and evolutionary consequences of intraspecific genetic and phenotypic variation on aquatic communities and ecosystems. My current research focuses on the ecology of cyanobacterial blooms with an emphasis on understanding how biotic and abiotic factors influence cyanobacterial bloom formation in a variety of systems including recreational reservoirs and aquaculture ponds. In tandem with our harmful algal bloom research, the lab is also studying the factors leading to taste, odor, and toxicity issues in drinking water reservoirs.


Want to Join the Lab?

Wilson Lab students set up experiment

I am always looking for hard-working, honest, and self-motivated graduate and undergraduate students to join our group. I encourage individual thinking, so it is not critical that we share identical research interests. But, it is important that you are fascinated by science and want to explore how the natural world works. Please email me your resume, transcripts, GRE scores (if applicable), research interests, and contact information for three references and we will try to find a spot for you in the lab.