Dr. Paul Weidman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research Scientist and Adjunct Assistant Professor
Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research
University of Windsor

Phone: 519-253-3000 x 4748
E-mail: Dr. Paul Weidman
Office: GLIER Room 312

Expertise:

Lake and Stream Ecosystem Ecology
Environmental Chemistry & Nutrient Biogeochemistry
Ecology of Algae, Invertebrates, and Juvenile Fish

Research Interests:

My research team and I study the impacts of multiple anthropogenic stressors on water chemistry, algae, invertebrates, and juvenile fish in freshwater ecosystems. These stressors include water pollution from urban and agricultural runoff, air pollution from metallurgical smelting and fossil fuel combustion, aquatic invasive species, and climate change. Our research is focused on understanding the effects of multiple stressors on the transport and fate of pollutants (trace metals, microplastics) and nutrients (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, silica) in water and sediments. We also investigate how changes in nutrients and pollutants affect the abundance and trophic interactions among algae, invertebrates, and juvenile fish in lakes, streams, and wetlands. Ultimately, our work is aimed at mitigating the impacts of human activities on the services that freshwater ecosystems provide for society, such as clean drinking water and productive fisheries.

Education & Experience:

Research Scientist & Adjunct Assistant Professor (current), Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario.

Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia.

Sessional Lecturer, School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia.

Visiting Scholar, Biodiversity Research Center, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia.

Ph.D. Ecology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta.

Great Lakes Scientist, Ontario Ministry of Environment, Etobicoke, Ontario.

M.Sc. Biology, Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario.

Research Biologist, Experimental Lakes Area, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

B.Sc. Botany, Department of Botany, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Publications:

Google Scholar

ResearchGate

Current Research Projects:

1. Effects of water level variation and land use disturbance on water chemistry and juvenile fish in coastal wetlands in the Laurentian Great Lakes (P. Hou).
2. Effects of urban and agricultural runoff on water chemistry and proliferation of nuisance filamentous benthic algae in nearshore regions of the Laurentian Great Lakes (Z. Song).
3. Effects of invasive dreissenid mussel filtration on benthic fluxes of nutrients and seston in the Laurentian Great Lakes (D. Xia).
4. Drivers of nutrient loading and harmful algal blooms in a network of oligotrophic boreal lakes in northwestern Ontario (P. Weidman, et al.).
5. Biogeochemical changes in sediments of an ancient lake in Indonesia (M. Ageli).
6. Temporal and spatial distribution of nutrients, microplastics, phytoplankton, and zooplankton in western Lake Erie (J. Owen, B. Vercruysse, et al.).

Current Lab Members:

• Pengfei Hou, Visiting Ph.D. Scholar (2021–present), GLIER, University of Windsor & Yunnan University, China (supervised with Dr. Hucai Zhang).
• Dr. Zhuoyan Song, Postdoctoral Fellow (2020–present), GLIER, University of Windsor (supervised with Dr. Ken Drouillard).
• Dr. Zhiqiang (Dylan) Xia, Postdoctoral Fellow (2020–present), GLIER, University of Windsor (supervised with Dr. Hugh MacIsaac).
• Mariam Ageli, Ph.D. Student (2018–present), GLIER, University of Windsor (main supervisor: Dr. Doug Haffner).

Past Lab Members & Associates:

• Mingjing Wang, Visiting M.Sc. Student (2020–2021), GLIER, University of Windsor & Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China (supervised with Dr. Wei Gao). Current position – Ph.D. Student, Beijing Normal University, China.
• Dr. Thijs Frenken, Postdoctoral Fellow (2020), GLIER, University of Windsor (supervised with Dr. Mike McKay). Current position – PDF, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, The Netherlands.
• Jess Ives, M.Sc. Research Associate (2020), GLIER, University of Windsor (supervised with Dr. Catherine Febria). Current position – Research Facilitator, University of Windsor.
• Tyler Black, M.Sc. Research Associate (2020), GLIER, University of Windsor (supervised with Dr. Ken Drouillard). Current position – Ph.D. Student, University of Guelph.
• Dr. Tim Maguire, Postdoctoral Fellow (2019–2020), GLIER, University of Windsor (supervised with Dr. Scott Mundle). Current position – PDF, University of Michigan.
• Megan Beaton, M.Sc. Student (2019–2020), Department of Chemistry, University of Windsor (main supervisor: Dr. Scott Mundle). Current position – Ph.D. Student, University of Windsor.
• Brenten Vercruysse, B.Sc. Student (2018–2019), GLIER, University of Windsor (supervised with Dr. Doug Haffner). Current position – M.Sc. Student, University of Calgary.
• Jess Owen, M.Sc. Student (2018–2019), GLIER, University of Windsor (supervised with Dr. Doug Haffner).