Curriculum Vitae
Lab Website
Microbial & Ecosystem Ecology Lab (www.wyattlab.org)
Research Interests
My research integrates microbiology and ecosystem ecology in an effort to gain a holistic understanding of aquatic ecosystems. We conduct both basic and applied research on a wide range of environmental issues involving streams, lakes and wetlands. Current research in my lab explores interactions between primary producers (algae, including cyanobacteria) and decomposers (bacteria and fungi) that have consequences for ecosystem processes such as energy flow and carbon emissions from aquatic environments. Our work has identified complex interactions between autotrophic and heterotrophic microorganisms that range from mutualistic to antagonistic within biofilm communities – these interactions, in turn, fuel the aquatic microbial loop and determine many aspects of biogeochemical cycling and food-web dynamics. Our research contributes to a growing awareness that environmental perturbations, such as those associated with ongoing climate change, can govern ecosystem processes by regulating the composition of microbial communities in aquatic environments.
Representative Publications
Wyatt, K.H, J. Cieslik, C.M. Dieleman, E.S. Kane, A.R. Rober, B. Sullivan, and M.R. Turetsky. 2024. Legacy effects of plant community structure are manifested in microbial biofilm development with consequences for ecosystem CO2 emissions. Global Change Biology 30: e17603. DOI: 10.1111/GCB.17603.
Rober, A.R., A.J. Lankford, E.S. Kane, M.R. Turetsky, and K.H. Wyatt. 2023. Structuring life after death: plant leachates promote CO2 uptake by regulating microbial biofilm interactions in a northern peatland ecosystem. Ecosystems DOI: 10.1007/s10021-023-00820-w.
Ferguson, H.M., E.J. Slagle, A.A. McCann, J.T. Walls, K.H. Wyatt, and A.R. Rober. 2021. Greening of the boreal peatland food web: periphyton supports secondary production in northern peatlands. Limnology & Oceanography 66: 1743–1757.
Wyatt, K.H., K.S. McCann, A.R. Rober, and M.R. Turetsky. 2021. Trophic interactions regulate peatland carbon cycling. Ecology Letters 24: 781–790.
Seballos, R.C., K.H. Wyatt, R.J. Bernot, S.P. Brown, S. Chandra, and A.R. Rober. 2020. Nutrient availability and organic matter quality shape bacterial community structure in a lake biofilm. Aquatic Microbial Ecology 85: 1-18.
Halvorson, H.M., K.H. Wyatt, and K.A. Kuehn. 2020. Ecological significance of autotroph-heterotroph microbial interactions in freshwaters. Freshwater Biology 65: 1183–1188.
Wyatt, K.H., R.C. Seballos, M.N. Shoemaker, S.P. Brown, S. Chandra, K.A. Kuehn, A.R. Rober, and S. Sadro. 2019. Resource constraints highlight complex microbial interactions during lake biofilm development. Journal of Ecology 107: 2737–2746.
Walls, J.T., K.H. Wyatt, J.C. Doll, E.M. Rubenstein, and A.R. Rober. 2018. Hot and toxic: temperature regulates microcystin release from cyanobacteria. Science of the Total Environment 610–611: 786–795.
