About me

I am an interdisciplinary aquatic ecologist and I'm passionate about combining diverse approaches to studying freshwater ecosystems. I use a wide range of tools from disciplines including ecology, ecotoxicology, paleolimnology, and remote sensing to investigate ecological questions related to aquatic food webs, cyanobacteria, cyanotoxins, and lake water quality.

A central theme of my research is understanding how cyanobacteria and their toxins influence freshwater food webs and the surrounding terrestrial landscape. I am also interested in improving our understanding of the multiple potential routes of exposure to cyanotoxins in the environment, through processes such as bioaccumulation and freshwater aerosolization. In addition to studying lakes in the northeast, some of my research addresses these questions in polar ecosystems, where lakes and ponds are experiencing climate-related changes such as shifts in ice cover duration, precipitation, and melting permafrost.

Outside of science, I am also a dancer. I have been the tap instructor at The Dance Collective in West Lebanon, NH since 2015, and I run the tap ensemble part of the Dartmouth Dance Ensemble at Dartmouth. I also enjoy brainstorming ways that biology can inform choreography, and how movement can be used as a form of data visualization (e.g., Biomimetic Choreography workshop). I think the two disciplines can inspire creative approaches and new perspectives in one another.

Research Interests

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Remotely sensing water quality


Satellite data allow us to examine water quality at much broader spatial scales and higher temporal resolutions than is possible with in-lake sampling alone. My work pairs in situ lake measurements with satellite imagery to develop predictive models of water quality in lakes. I am interested in tracking how changes in metrics such as chlorophyll-a, temperature, and other water quality metrics vary at different temporal scales, ranging from within a season to across decades. I also ask questions about how these parameters vary spatially within a lake - e.g., do blooms occur predictably in certain areas of the lake, and is that changing through time?

To work towards improving predictions of cyanobacterial abundance, I am also working on a project pairing satellite imagery with measurements of cyanobacteria-specific pigments and several cyanotoxins. As part of this collaborative project, I am striving to develop more robust models that can use satellite imagery to more accurately predict not only cyanobacteria abundance, but cyanotoxin conditions. This project (SICM: Satellite-Integrated Cyanobacterial Monitoring) is a collaboration with researchers at the University of New Hampshire, Association for the Protection of Cape Cod (APCC), Martha’s Vineyard Commission, NH DES, and many citizen scientist volunteers.

Cyanotoxins in food webs


Cyanobacteria and the toxins they produce are a major concern worldwide for their harmful effects on human and environmental health. A major focus of my work has been investigating the transfer and accumulation of cyanotoxins in underinvestigated systems such as aquatic food webs in arctic and alpine lakes. I have found that cyanotoxins in these systems can be transferred within multiple components of the benthic and pelagic food webs. I am especially interested in how cyanotoxins are transferred between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, through mechanisms such as emerging insects, transfer through plants, and aerosolization.

From water to air:

Freshwater aerosolization


Aerosolization of cyanobacteria and their toxins represents a potentially important route of toxin exposure and a potential mechanism of dispersal of cyanobacterial cells across landscapes, yet the environmental factors driving bioaerosol production in freshwater systems are not yet well described. I am working on developing techniques for capturing and quantifying aerosolized cells from aquatic and terrestrial substrates in temperate and polar regions to improve our understanding of how cyanobacterial cells and toxins may be transported by this process. I also use controlled laboratory and mesocosm experiments to tease apart the potential environmental (e.g., temperature, humidiity) and biological (e.g., composition of the food web) mechanisms influencing aerosolization rates.

Benthic cyanobacteria


In many polar lakes and ponds, benthic cyanobacteria represent an important component of the ecosystem. While many high latitude systems lack conspicuous surface blooms, cyanobacteria are often abundant and productive at the bottom of the lake, thriving as benthic mats and multicellular colonies on the benthos. I am interested in the role benthic communites play in these ecosystems, especially the extent to which they contribute cyanotoxins to the aquatic food web.

My research on cyanobacteria of the genus Nostoc (also known as "sea tomatoes") in Greenlandic lakes, where they can be extremely abundant, has shown that benthic colonies contain cyanotoxins and may be important in releasing these toxins into aquatic ecosystems. Benthic cyanobacteria are not limited to polar environments and I am also interested in how toxin production varies in benthic communities in temperate lakes.

Teaching & Outreach

Teaching

Teaching is one of the most fun and rewarding aspects of being a scientist. I have taught many courses between Dartmouth College and Colby-Sawyer College, including:

  • Physiological Ecology
  • Field Methods in Ecology
  • Ecological Research in the Tropics
  • Aquatic Ecology
  • Water Resources
  • Soil and Water Chemistry
  • Introduction to Environmental Science
  • Anatomy and Physiology
My courses often emphasize field research and I absolutely love bringing students outdoors to experience the excitement of the natural world firsthand.

I also teach several international field courses, including:
  • Biology Foreign Studies Program (Bio FSP): BIO FSP is an immersive tropical field ecology course that brings Dartmouth students to biological field stations throughout Costa Rica and the Cayman Islands where they experience some of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on earth, learning about tropical ecology and conducting research projects in each unique habitat
  • Joint Science Education Program (JSEP): JSEP is an NSF-funded international collaboration between researchers and educators in Greenland, Denmark and the United States that brings high schoolers from these three countries to Greenland to learn about the Arctic and to inspire and train the next generation of polar scientists
I also enjoy mentoring undergraduate student research projects and I am always looking for enthusiastic students to join me in field and lab research at Dartmouth.

Outreach

Every person should have the chance to participate in science and research, and I continually learn from and am inspired by the perspectives and contributions of community members. I love engaging with community scientists through hands-on research, lake monitoring projects, community events, and open forums. I contribute to training community scientists and water quality managers in lake monitoring techniques through the Cyanobacterial Monitoring Collaborative (CMC) and through local lake associations.

I work regularly with the Lake Sunapee Protective Association (LSPA) on several projects related to the Lake Sunapee food web and cyanobacteria monitoring. Starting in 2021, we developed a community science cyanobacteria monitoring program (CyanoScope) that trains community members how to collect, count, and identify cyanobacteria in the lake. Through collaboration with the LSPA and their interns program, the Burkhaven Fellowship, and support from the Midge Eliassen Fellowship, we have collected data that are helping us build a model of the food web of Lake Sunapee, and track changes in the abundance and composition of cyanobacteria in th lake through time.

I've also developed an online plankton-counting tool as part of these monitoring efforts, which includes a counting platform for general plankton samples, and one for cyanobacteria, specifically. These are free and availble for others to use:

Publications



Trout-Haney, J. V.=, J. A. Brentrup=, K. L. Cottingham, K. C. Weathers, B. D. Cook, M. J. Ducey, C. Herrick, et al. 2026. “ Key Considerations for the Use of Satellite-Based Remote Sensing for Lake and Reservoir Research and Management.” Ecosphere 17(7): e70696. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70696

Gilbert, J.J. and J.V. Trout-Haney 2025. Gigantism in the rotifer Asplanchna brightwellii: Dietary control, reproduction, propensity for sex, and ecological significance. Journal of Plankton Research. https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbaf017.

Gilbert, J.J. and J.V. Trout-Haney 2025. Sexual reproduction in Asplanchna brightwellii from a temporary habitat: Effects of generation from the stem female and population density. Journal of Freshwater Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.70099.

Harris, T., K.L Reinl, H-P.F. Grossart, X. Sun, P.D.F. Isles, R.L. North, V. Nava, J.V. Trout-Haney, I. Ogashawara, M.C.A. Paule-Mercado, S.A. Berger, M. Bizic, D. Ionescu, P. Urrutia-Cordero, L. N. de Senerpont Domis, Q. Zhan, Z.M. Kouhanestani, S.H. Burnet, G.A. Weyhenmeyer, I. Elfferich, B.W. Ibelings, S. Soria-Píriz, M. Azarderakhsh, P. Almela, R. Bhattacharya, M.C. Berman, Y.R. McElarney, A.M. Morales-Williams, K. Ali Ger, K. Yokota, J. Mauch, J. Cianci-Gaskill. 2024. What makes a cyanobacterial bloom disappear? A review of the abiotic and biotic cyanobacterial bloom loss factors. Harmful Algae. 133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2024.102599.

Reinl, K.L., T.D. Harris, R.L. North, P. Almela, S.A. Berger, M. Bizic, S.H. Burnet, H.P. Grossart, B.W. Ibelings, E. Jakobsson, L.B. Knoll, B.M. Lafrancois, Y. McElarney, A.M. Morales-Williams, U. Obertegger, I. Ogashawara, M.C. Paule-Mercado, B.L. Peierls, J.A. Rusak, S. Sarkar, S. Sharma, J.V. Trout-Haney, P. Urrutia-Cordero, J.J. Venkiteswaran, D.J. Wain, K. Warner, G.A. Weyhenmeyer, K. Yokota. 2023. Blooms like it Cold. Limnology and Oceanography Letters. https://10.1002/lol2.10316.

Herrick, C., B.G., Steele, J.A. Brentrup, K.L. Cottingham, M.J. Ducey, D.A. Lutz, M.W. Palace, M.C. Thompson, J.V. Trout-Haney, and K.C. Weathers, 2023. lakeCoSTR: A Tool to Facilitate Use of Landsat Collection 2 to Estimate Lake Surface Water Temperatures. Ecosphere 14(1):e4357. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4357.

Trout-Haney, J.V. and K.L. Cottingham. 2021. Microcystins in planktonic and benthic communities of Greenlandic lakes. Ecosphere. 12 (6), e03539. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3539.

Layden, T.J., C.T. Kremer, D.L. Brubaker, M.A. Kolk, J.V. Trout-Haney, D.A. Vasseur, S.B. Fey. 2021. Thermal acclimation influences the growth and toxin production of freshwater cyanobacteria. Limnology and Oceanography Letters. https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.10197.

Trout-Haney, J.V., A.L. Ritger*, and K.L. Cottingham. 2020. Benthic cyanobacteria of the genus Nostoc are a source of microcystins in Greenlandic lakes and ponds. Freshwater Biology. 00:1-12. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.13636.

Trout-Haney, J.V., R.C. Heindel, and R.A. Virginia. 2020. Picocyanobacterial cells aerosolize from terrestrial and freshwater substrates in Greenland and Antarctica. Environmental Microbiology Reports. https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-2229.12832

Trout-Haney, J.V., Z.T. Wood*, and K.L. Cottingham. 2016. Presence of the cyanotoxin microcystin in lakes of southwestern Greenland. Toxins. 8(9) 256. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins8090256.

Cottingham, K.L.=, S.B. Fey=, K.J. Fritschie=, and J. Trout-Haney=. 2016. Advancing ecosystem science by promoting greater use of theory and multiple research approaches in graduate education. Ecosystems. 20(2):1-7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-016-0070-3.

Trout-Haney, J.V. 2006. An assessment of plankton populations, toxic cyanobacteria, and potential impact of introduced marine alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) in Pawtuckaway Lake, New Hampshire. UNH Center Freshwat. Biol. Res. 8(1):1-17.